OPINION
Newcastle United must overtake West Ham in the race to sign Stefano Sturaro by using the fee from Mikel Merino’s inevitable sale to fund their pursuit.
Spanish news outlet AS reported on Wednesday that the Magpies’ 21-year-old defensive midfielder was set to leave the club in order to join La Liga’s Real Sociedad after a £10.5million fee was agreed for his services.
It is believed that Merino will sign a five-year contract with Sociedad which means that Rafa Benitez needs to find a replacement for the midfielder as soon as possible.
The Magpies are already linked with a move for Sturaro and with Merino’s sale bringing in some extra funds then Mike Ashley should pour them into the club’s pursuit of the serial winner.
Tuttomercatoweb previously reported that the Magpies had bid in the region of £11million to sign the 25-year-old midfielder from Juventus but the most recent report revealed that the Hammers were in pole position to get him.
Tuttosport claimed that the London club are willing to pay 18 million euros (£15.7million) and 2 million euros (£1.75million) in bonuses in order to successfully snap up Sturaro in this window.
However if the Magpies use the money from Merino’s sale they can easily retake the lead in the race for the midfield destroyer’s signature.
Sturaro would be a swift upgrade on Merino as not only as he won countless trophies in his career already, including four Serie A titles, his experience will see him adapt to the demands of the Premier League very quickly.
The current Juventus midfielder would add a steely presence to the Magpies’ midfield and will add to the solid foundation at the back that Benitez has slowly built in order to help the club improve their chances of success.
Also aside from his tackling skills being an asset, Sturaro’s ability to plays as central midfielder or defensive midfielder as well as a right-back will be very useful to Benitez.
Therefore with the sale of Merino looking likely it seems an easy decision for the funds to quickly be reinvested into the pursuit of Sturaro as the team would instantly be upgraded following his arrival.
