Newcastle United tabled a ‘concrete’ bid for Swedish centre-forward Kerim Mrabti in the January window, according to HLN.
The Belgian newspaper claim the Premier League club had a £1.2million offer rejected by Mrabti’s club Djurgarden in the winter window as the Swedish outfit were not willing to sell him in mid-season.
HLN report that Djurgarden are now willing to listen to offers of around £1.3million for Mrabti amid interest from Anderlecht and Club Brugge.
OPINION
Given HLN’s reputation as a reliable chronicler of football and transfer information, it appears that Newcastle can seal the signing of Mrabti this summer by increasing their January bid by just £100,000. The Swede is not perhaps the blue-chip striker the club are crying out for, even though he has represented Sweden on three occasions and scored a glut of goals earlier this month, including in three consecutive matches. But Mrabti could be a useful squad man, who, at 24, could improve under Rafael Benitez’s coaching and offer increased competition for the striker role at the club. He is also as much goal provider as scorer and is versatile as he can also play in a wide forward role, including on the left flank cutting in on his favoured right foot. If Newcastle want Mrabti enough, a mere £100,000 is chicken feed to seal the deal, although he is out of contract in December and they might claim his value has diminished.
