OPINION
Newcastle United must exploit Huddersfield Town’s reported failure to agree a price for Club Brugge winger Anthony Limbombe but only if a deal can be done for the right price.
According to The Sun the 24-year-old’s potential move to the Terriers has broken down as the Belgian international has failed to agree terms with the Premier League side.
The newspaper claim that talks between Brugge and Huddersfield had taken place over a potential £11million transfer and that Rafa Benitez may reignite his previous interest in the player to get a deal done.
While supporters will love the idea of the Magpies considering hijacking a Premier League rivals’ potential deal for a talented player, £11million seems unlikely to be spent on signing just one player this summer.
However while normally the Magpies should be condemned for their reluctance to spend, given Limbombe’s current situation then it’s only worth signing him if the fee is lower.
The 24-year-old, according to The Sun’s report, has already been written out of the club’s plans for next season and this has left his career in limbo.
Brugge are no doubt willing to lower their demand for their player just a little bit at the very least as after preparing for life without him, they don’t want to be stuck paying his wages for another season.
Also even though the reason for why Huddersfield failed to agree terms with Limbombe isn’t stated if it was money related then the Magpies have to save costs regarding the player in order to justify giving him the wage he wants.
However that said the Magpies shouldn’t allow themselves to pay over the odds to persuade the 24-year-old that his future is at St James Park as that could come back to bite them.
The 24-year-old has pace, strength and dazzling skills that will see him flourish on the left-flank for the club if recruited but with him having no Premier League experience, there is a chance that he might not settle into life in England’s top-division.
The Magpies don’t want to end up stuck paying a huge weekly wage for a player that flops as they’re already paying for past mistakes.
For example take Henri Saivet who the club are still paying £35,000-a-week to (Source: Chronicle) as the club handed him a bumper contract upon joining.
The 27-year-old midfielder has since made only eight appearance for the club and seems like a difficult player to get off the wage bill due to no one else being willing to match his lucrative pay packet.
Therefore the Magpies must look to exploit Huddersfield’s failure in their reported pursuit of Limbombe as he is a talented player but only if they can agree the right price with the player and his club.
