Newcastle’s midfield has undergone a significant rebuild this summer. Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali both departed, with younger and inexperienced replacements arriving in the shape of Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur to freshen up the engine room.
Indeed, Matthias Jaissle’s arrival has largely aligned with a focus on youthful exuberance in the transfer market, but the Magpies are considering an injection of experience to blood in their young guns.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was the strongest name in the mix, but the player rejected a move to Tyneside. Marseille have since stripped the former Southampton man of his captaincy, such was their desire to cash in for Premier League riches.
Since then, attentions has turned to Joao Palhinha, with Newcastle having made a three-year contract offer to the Bayern Munich midfielder. Bayern have made clear they’re willing to let him leave, with the German giants reportedly telling the Portugal international to pack his bags.
But Palhinha isn’t the only midfielder on Newcastle’s radar. Lucas Bergvall has also emerged as a genuine target, with the Magpies now lining up a fresh offer for the Tottenham man after seeing an initial £46m bid rejected last month.
Bergvall himself is said to be keen to leave Spurs before the window closes, with the 20-year-old having seen serious competition for places arrive in midfield over the summer – he remains a regular under Roberto De Zerbi in pre-season, but there’s a belief that game time could become harder to come by once the season gets fully underway.
According to Football Insider, Nottingham Forest have also had one bid knocked back for the Swede, and manager Oliver Glasner is determined to go again. Glasner is keen to offset the loss of Elliot Anderson to Manchester City, and sees Bergvall as the ideal player to bolster his options after Xaver Schlager’s arrival earlier in the window, but he will face competition from the Magpies, who are set to return with a second offer of their own.
Bergvall arrived at Tottenham with a strong reputation, and has gone on to impress across his two seasons in north London, showing composure on the ball and an ability to drive from deep that’s made him admired by clubs well beyond Newcastle and Forest. With five years still left on his contract, he won’t be a cut-price deal for whoever wins the race, but he represents the kind of progressive, ball-carrying profile Premier League midfields are crying out for.
Newcastle aren’t just shopping in midfield, though. A new striker is also on the agenda, with the Magpies strongly linked with a move for Sporting’s Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has been touted as a potential long-term successor to Ivan Toney due to his physicality, movement and finishing instincts.
With Palhinha’s exit from Bayern all but confirmed and Bergvall increasingly open to a fresh challenge, Newcastle look well placed to land at least one of their two midfield targets – the question is whether they can get both deals, plus a new striker, over the line before September 1st.
