Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, Duncan Castles has named Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez amongst Newcastle’s centre-back targets.
The Magpies have been desperately trying to get a new defender through the door this month. They’ve been strongly linked to the likes of Sven Botman and Diego Carlos, but as of yet, nothing has come to fruition.
With just days to go in the window, Newcastle still have an extensive list of targets, and amongst those is Ajax’s Martinez.
What’s been said about Martinez?
Castles shared what he knows about Newcastle’s pursuit of a new defender.
“We mentioned Jason Denayer previously, Benoit Badiashile at Monaco, they also have an interest in Marcao from Galatasaray and Lisandro Martinez the Argentina centre-back from Ajax, though, I think he’s probably out of their league. Ajax would look for over €50m (£42m) for the player who signed a new contract in October, and they haven’t made an offer to them yet,” Castles said.
Unrealistic
As Castles says, Martinez is likely a player who is out of the Magpies’ league right now.
Ajax are in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and with Sebastien Haller in red-hot form, they have a great chance of progressing in Europe this year.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are staring relegation in the face, and Martinez would be taking a big risk by heading to Tyneside.
Martinez is the type of player who could be picked up by a truly elite club in the next couple of years, so he’d be better off waiting for that move to come about rather than heading to St James’ Park right now.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
