Newcastle can sign ‘excellent’ forward for £13m, but he’s only a back-up

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Borussia Dortmund will sell Thorgan Hazard to Newcastle United for just £13 million but the Premier League outfit see him as a back-up option behind Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby, according to Sport1. 

It’s safe to say the 2021/22 campaign won’t go down as one to remember for either of the Hazard brothers. 

While Eden’s dream switch to the Santiago Bernabeu continues to descend into a nightmare that would leave even Freddy Krueger feeling a little guilty, Thorgan found himself in and out of a Dortmund side who performed well below expectations despite an eventual second-place finish. 

And while Thorgan will always be viewed as the younger sibling of the Hazard family, he will be 30 by the time next season reaches it’s conclusion. Newcastle have shown an interest, according to Sport1, but the 45-time Belgium international appears to be little more than a ‘Plan B’ as far as the Magpies are concerned. 

Newcastle United like Thorgan Hazard but prefer Moussa Diaby

Then again, with Newcastle’s ‘Plan A’ looking increasingly doomed to failure, Dortmund may still get their wish with the £13 million-rated Hazard joining Nico Schulz and Manuel Akanji on Die Schwarzgelben’s ‘for sale’ list. 

The report adds that Newcastle are willing to pay around £35 million for France international Diaby. A sizeable sum but far less than the £50 million Leverkusen are holding out for. 

“I am very optimistic that he will stay,” Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes tells Kicker, while confirming that former employers Paris Saint-Germain have also enquired about the jet-heeled Diaby. 

“He knows what he has in Bayer 04. There are a few clubs in Europe (who are keen on Diaby). PSG are one of them.”

Hazard, at around 15 million euros, could still prove to be an excellent bit of business for Newcastle, even if the now-29-year-old forward does not really suit the club’s transfer policy; One that revolves around signing up-and-coming youngsters with plenty of room for development. 

“Toto is an excellent footballer who has good technique,” former BVB coach Marco Rose said last year.

“(Hazard) can go one-on-one, he has become more proficient defensively. He is a blessing for a coach. He’s very versatile. He can play as a number eight, he can play at centre-forward, he can play as a ten, he can play as a winger or a wing-back.”