The Swansea City playmaker is on Newcastle United’s radar after another superb season.
Even if their approach could best be described as ‘ambitious’, you could hardly blame Newcastle United for showing an interest in Swansea City talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The Sun claims that the Icelandic playmaker, whose Premier League leading eleven assists has kept the South Wales club above the relegation zone, may be the subject of a £15 million bid from The Magpies once their promotion to the top flight is confirmed.
And if there is such thing as the ‘perfect signing’, then Sigurdsson would be pretty close. Benitez is reportedly concerned by Newcastle’s lack of goal threat and creativity in central midfield and the former Tottenham creator, who has scored eight goals this season and earned comparisons to Frank Lampard, would ensure that The Magpies are not short of ammunition.
Furthermore, his vast Premier League experience means the signing would fall into the ‘low risk’ category. The reported £15 million price, too, is nothing less than a snip in the modern market.
However, Newcastle could still have saved themselves a rather large wad of cash had they managed to lure Sigurdsson to the North East before he inked a permanent deal with Swansea.
Arriving at the Liberty Stadium on a loan deal from Hoffenheim in January 2012, the Daily Mail claim that Newcastle were desperate to thwart Swansea’s chances of signing him permanently after netting an impressive seven goals in 13 starts.
As it transpired, however, The Swans paid just £6.5 million to get their man while Newcastle instead turned their attentions to a player just a month older than Sigurdsson – Reims playmaker Romain Amalfitano, as reported by The Telegraph.
And while Sigurdsson evolved into one of the Premier League’s finest attacking midfielders, the free transfer from Reims failed to make a single Premier League appearance. He’s now back in France with Dijon after failing to cut the mustard at St James’.
Newcastle may have a chance to right their wrong this summer.
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