Newcastle United had contract pretty much agreed with Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata before the transfer deadline, but couldn’t get the deal done.
That’s according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who has told Give Me Sport that Newcastle made real progress in their pursuit of Zapata.
Jones claims Newcastle were ‘never far away’ from signing Zapata and had personal terms ‘pretty much in place’, but just couldn’t tempt Atalanta.
“From what I’ve heard, the personal terms were pretty much in place. They were never far away. It was just Atalanta,” said Jones.
Zapata was a key target for Newcastle for much of January, and the Magpies appeared to have real hope of a deal.
Zapata was understood to be excited by the prospect of a move to Newcastle, fancying a change from Serie A.
After spells with Udinese, Napoli, Sampdoria and Atalanta, you can hardly blame him for wanting something different.
The Mirror noted that Atalanta valued Zapata at around £34million, but were open to an £8million loan with a permanent option.
Newcastle couldn’t get that deal done, ending the January transfer window with Chris Wood as their only striking addition.
Zapata, 30, has hit 12 goals in 22 games for Atalanta this season, adding seven assists too in a superb campaign.
The Colombian’s total record with Atalanta now stands at 78 goals in 152 games, continuing to thrive with the Italian side.
Compared to Romelu Lukaku, Zapata could have been an enormous capture for Newcastle in their battle against relegation.
You do have to question just how much you can really spend on a striker in his 30’s though. Decline will be coming for Zapata in the near future, and Newcastle surely don’t want to sink nearly £40million into that kind of deal.
Zapata is a quality striker, but if Newcastle do stay in the Premier League, don’t be surprised to see them look for a younger option rather than return for Zapata.
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