Report: Newcastle in talks to sign £13m ace faster than Alphonso Davies

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Premier League Newcastle United have opened talks to sign Jerry St Juste in a potential £13 million deal from Bundesliga outfit Mainz as their centre-back search goes on, according to Sky Germany. 

Newcastle supporters could be forgiven for feeling like a disappointed kid on Christmas morning, going to bed dreaming of a shiny new Play Station 5 and waking up with a Sega Mega Drive at the end of their bed.

With all due respect to St Juste – not to mention Brighton’s Dan Burn – this is not the kind of elite-level centre-half Eddie Howe was prioritising when the transfer window opened on January 1.  

Then again, deals for the likes of Diego Carlos and Sven Botman, while impressively ambitious, always felt somewhat pie-in-the-sky. 

Sevilla were never going to let their star centre-back leave with a first La Liga title since 1946 in their sights.

Lille, meanwhile, have a Champions League knock-out tie with reigning European champions Chelsea looming on the horizon. 

Will Newcastle finally sign their first new centre-back since 2018?

But what St Juste lacks in star quality, he maybe makes up for in attainability.

Mainz are tenth in the Bundesliga table, safe from relegation and seven points adrift of the top four. Simply put, they – unlike Seville – can afford to cash in on one of their key players and be confident that it will not destabilise their season. 

According to Sky, St Juste is the latest in a long line of central defenders on Newcastle’s winter wishlist. Talks between the Magpies and Mainz are underway.

And a rumoured £13 million price-tag makes the 25-year-old Dutchman far more affordable than the likes of Carlos and Botman, let alone Nathan Ake, James Tarkowski and Felix Uduokhai. 

Versatile and tactically flexible, St Juste can play at centre-half, right-back and in defensive midfield.

The former Feyenoord man was also clocked as the fastest player in the Bundesliga during the 2021/22 season, leaving even Alphonso Davies, Erling Haaland and Leroy Sane choking on his dust.