Speculation is rife that Newcastle United are trying to sign Bernd Leno [Sky Sports].
The Magpies need a new goalkeeper to bolster their chances of staying in the Premier League.
And it looks very much like they have set their sights on the Arsenal stopper, who joined the Gunners in 2018 under Unai Emery.
Interestingly, the Spanish manager came very close to becoming Newcastle manager last year after Steve Bruce was sacked.
And Emery – now at Villarreal – was a big fan of the former Bayer Leverkusen stalwart.
He displaced the legendary Petr Cech during his first season at the Emirates Stadium and here’s one moment where Emery praised him.
He told The Mirror: “Our goalkeeper is very important and sometimes the goalkeeper can save us and today I’m very proud of his work.”
Emery’s comments highlight the importance of having a reliable goalkeeper in the ranks.
Leno isn’t playing at Arsenal because he’s a poor player – he isn’t playing because Aaron Ramsdale is simply undroppable.
Newcastle are 19th in the Premier League, where they’ve been for virtually the entire campaign.
But they’re only four points adrift of safety and with two games in hand, well the maths is obvious.
Safety is within Newcastle’s grasp and escape certainly isn’t unthinkable.
But it is unless they recruit wisely over the next 10 days of the transfer window and getting Leno over the line would and could bolster their survival hopes tremendously.
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