Newcastle United have agreed to pay Serie A star Duvan Zapata £100,000-a-week but Atalanta have rejected a loan-to-buy bid from the Premier League strugglers, as reported by TMW.
If Newcastle’s long-term aims revolve around Champions League qualification, then their short-term ambitions are firmly fixed on another word beginning with Champion but ending with ship rather than league.
Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood, the club’s two January signings to date, were brought in from Atletico Madrid and Burnley respectively with survival in mind.
Both players arrive with a proven track record in England’s top-flight. And should, in theory, adapt quicker than those brought in from abroad.
An important factor, given that there is only four months of the season remaining. Newcastle, treading water and just one point off the bottom, have no time to waste.
But while Chris Wood remains somewhat underrated – he’s scored 46 goals in the last four top-flight seasons – it is hard to imagine that Newcastle’s Saudi Arabian owners see the 30-year-old veteran as the posterboy of a bold new era.
Wood feels more like a short-term quick fix in the midst of a relegation dogfight; albeit a £25 million quick fix.
Will Newcastle sign Duvan Zapata?
Zapata is the same the age as the New Zealand international, having turned 30 in April.
But the powerhouse Colombian would certainly represent a more ambitious, more high-profile arrival. A striker more befitting of the ‘marquee signing’ label.
According to TMW, Newcastle have an ‘agreement in principle’ with Zapata over a £5.4 million-a-year, three-and-a-half year contract.
If the Magpies have an agreement with the player, however, the same cannot be said with Zapata’s club.
Atalanta have rejected, with ‘disdain’ TMW adds, an initial loan-to-buy bid. La Dea want £33 million for a man who plundered 19 goals last season and has 12 to his name this.
Zapata admitted recently that he was tempted by a move to Inter Milan last summer. The reigning Serie A champions reportedly saw the 6ft 2ins goal-machine as an ideal successor for Romelu Lukaku.
“Any player who will replace the Belgian must have characteristics similar to him,” former Inter ace Riccardo Ferri explains.
“Without a doubt, Zapata is certainly the one who resembles (Lukaku) the most.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
