Watford not ready to pay £15m for Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs, but Newcastle should not be tempted either.
Arsenal’s signing of Saed Kolasinac from Schalke 04 this summer makes the chances of Kieran Gibbs leaving the club seem all the more likely.
According to the Mirror, new Watford manager Marco Silva has made signing Gibbs one of his top priorities ahead of the new Premier League season.
Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs and Bournemouth’s Simon Francis
However, the same report claims that the Hornets are put off by the Gunners’ current asking price of £15m for the 27-year-old, which in turn could give Newcastle United hope.
This is what is claimed by football.london, who say that the Magpies are also keen on Gibbs and could be prepared to pay the asking price themselves.
Yet while this would see Newcastle steal a march on their top flight rivals, it would a mistake to pay £15m for a player about to enter the final year of his current contract.
Both Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal are ahead of Gibbs in the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium now and with the left-back said to be earning £60,000-a-week, the North Londoners should really be flexible on price to get him off their books.
Not only that, but with only eight league starts to the England international’s name in 2016/17 and some much criticised performances over the past 12 months, there are question marks over whether he is worth £15m full stop.
Rafa Benitez may have only secured one permanent signing this summer as the Toon prepare for life back in the top tier, but that does not mean he should be panicked into making expensive mistakes as a result and should negotiate any potential deal for Gibbs down much lower.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez
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