Newcastle United may have lost the chance to sign Girona’s Portu for a bargain £10.5m

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Girona’s Portu would be an excellent buy for Newcastle United.

Newcastle United are in need of extra creativity in the final third, and Girona’s Cristian Portugues Manzanera would have made for an excellent option considering his excellent debut campaign in La Liga.

The former Valencia youth team player netted eight goals and provided a further eight assists during the Spanish minnow’s promotion campaign last year, but few would have expected him to perform so well in La Liga.

Thus far, the Catalonia-based side have performed way beyond expectations and currently sit in the top half of the Spanish top-flight, while playmaker Portu has chipped in with 11 goals – including strikes against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atetico Madrid – and four assists.

For a midfielder who drifts behind a striker his record is excellent, and such performances would have no doubt caught the eye of a number of clubs across Europe’s top five leagues.

Newcastle’s recent astonishing form has seen them move away from the threat of relegation and in to tenth position in the Premier League, further illustrating the brilliance of manager Rafa Benitez.

But the Spaniard’s team clearly lacks a goal threat, and with the on-loan Kenedy likely to return to Chelsea in the summer or find himself elsewhere, the Magpies have a huge creative void to fill.

Portu, 25, was named by Spain’s Marca as one of the potential bargains of the summer as his release clause stood at just 12 million euros (roughly £10.5 million), but sadly that may no longer be the case.

Representatives of Girona confirmed to Spanish publication AS that the player’s contract has been extended until 2022, and his release clause is said to have increased to around 20 million euros (roughly £17.3 million).

It’s still a figure which appears accessible to several English clubs, and one which could still turn out to be a bargain – but there’s now the risk element of spending such a figure on a player unfamiliar with English football.