Premier League strugglers Newcastle United are ready to double Diego Carlos’ wages as they look to lure the Sevilla defender away from the La Liga giants in the January transfer window, according to ABC de Sevilla.
Would you rather go toe-to-toe with Real Madrid for La Liga glory? Or fight tooth and nail with Burnley, Brentford for your top-flight survival?
Unless you’re a glutton for punishment, we’d presume you would choose option number one every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
But what if we said that, if you chose a relegation battle over a title fight, you’d earn yourself the sort of pay rise that often only comes around once in a lifetime?
Suddenly, a once simple decision now feels a lot more difficult doesn’t it?
Will Newcastle sign Sevilla’s Diego Carlos?
According to Marca, Newcastle saw a second bid worth £21 million rejected by Sevilla earlier this week.
Carlos is valued closer to £38 million. That is a damn sight larger than the fee Newcastle have offered so far.
But do not underestimate how far the club’s billionaire Saudi Arabian owners are willing to go to save the ‘richest football club on planet earth’ from those dreaded Tuesday night trips to Kenilworth Road and Ashton Gate.
ABC de Sevilla, meanwhile, claim that Newcastle are offering to double Carlos’s wages.
It is understood that the late-blooming Brazilian, who helped Julen Lopetegui’s side win the Europa League during his first season in Spain, currently earns £40,000-a-week at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Newcastle are reluctant to put all their eggs in one basket, however. And that feels sensible, given that luring Carlos away from Sevilla will be easier said than done.
The Magpies are also in talks to sign Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile and Lille’s Sven Botman. Freiburg ace Nico Schlotterbeck is reported to have rebuffed their advances though.
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