OPINION
Newcastle United must swiftly hijack the reported race for Sporting Lisbon defender Cristiano Piccini and beat the likes of West Ham and Manchester United to his signature.
According to Turkish-Football.com the 25-year-old right-back is considering his options at the Portuguese giants as he is one of the players that has been unsettled following an attack on players by masked hooligans at the club’s training ground.
The football news site claim that the Hammers and Man United have expressed their interest in Piccini with Turkish giants Besiktas submitting an offer to take him on loan.
It is believed that Lisbon would prefer to sell their player rather than loan him out and value him in the region of £17.5million.
The Magpies are capable of negotiating a deal at a lower price point for Piccini but could try their luck securing his services on loan as clearly Besiktas think there’s at least a chance his temporary exit could be sanction based on their offer.
While the price tag will no doubt still unnerve the Magpies, the Premier League side must hijack the hunt for the defender as he would be the ideal new right-back to give to Rafa Benitez.
The Chronicle previously reported that the Magpies manager had made it a key priority for the club in the current transfer window to sign a new right-back as he felt current option DeAndre Yedlin didn’t have enough competition for a place in the starting line-up.
Piccini who stands at 6ft 2in tall (Transfermarkt) is a capable defender which he more than proved last season as he put in some excellent displays during the 40 appearances he made for Lisbon.
The 25-year-old shone in his five Champions League outings and was a constant reliable presence at the back for his club during the 24 league games he featured in.
Aside from being a solid defender, which would aid the Magpies’ already stellar defence, Piccini is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and would suit Benitez’s style of play.
Piccini is a very good dribbler of the ball and rarely loses possession due to making sloppy passes or silly decisions about what to do with the ball.
The 6ft 2in tall defender is more than capable of not only providing Yedlin with competition but ousting him from the first-team as he would be an upgrade on the Magpies’ current right-back if he was able to settle into life in the Premier League.
This means that the Magpies must successfully hijack the reported race for Piccini’s signature to give Benitez the ideal new right-back that he desires this summer.
