Back in January, Newcastle tried desperately to sign Sevilla defender Diego Carlos, although their bid for the centre-back was deemed to be too low.
Now, Sevilla have made things more difficult for the Magpies.
What’s the story?
Well, Monchi – Director of Football at Sevilla – has revealed that the Brazilian’s release clause has been raised in a bid to fend off Newcastle.
As quoted by Goal, the 53-year-old said: “We’ve renewed (the contracts of) Diego Carlos and (Lucas) Ocampos 14 months ago. We didn’t announce it for strategic reasons.”
Now, it will take £67m for Newcastle to lure the South American away from Seville.
It’s hardly an ideal situation, although Newcastle certainly have the funds to make such a significant signing after the Saudi Arabian takeover.
So far this season, the 28-year-old has made 36 appearances in all competitions, cementing his status as a key player for Sevilla.
Newcastle must think carefully about Diego Carlos
In our view, this move requires a lot of thought.
£67m is a significant amount of money, and is only £8m less than what Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.
A huge outlay like that could get Eddie Howe a truly world class striker who bags 30 goals a season, so Newcastle must now decide whether this move is still worth pursuing.
In our view, it isn’t.
It may be worth doing if Diego Carlos was in his early twenties, as the Magpies would be getting value for money over time.
However, the towering defender turns 29 on March 15th, so Newcastle would only be getting the end of his prime years.
Keep an eye on this saga, as it will be interesting to see if Newcastle are put off by Sevilla’s strategic decision.
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