Newcastle United are in the hunt to sign versatile Crystal Palace defender Jairo Riedewald, according to The Times.
The newspaper report that Riedewald recently rejected a move to Swansea as he did not want to drop down a division, with the 21-year-old enforcer set to be part of a swap deal involving Jordan Ayew.
The Times claim that Newcastle are among several clubs interested in the 6ft Dutchman [Transfermarkt], who can play anywhere across the backline and also in central midfield.
OPINION
Riedewald is a big talent but has yet to make an impact at Palace since his £8million move from Ajax last summer. The young versatile enforcer made just 15 appearances in all competitions last season, with just seven of those being starts. Big things were expected of Riedewald when he arrived, and Palace will still be hopeful that he can come good. The defender is still very highly-rated, and may just be taking some time to adapt to the Premier League, as many players do when they come from the Eredivisie. That being said, you would think that Palace would be open to letting Riedewald go considering his lack of impact, and that means that Newcastle could be successful in their pursuit. If it does go through it could end up being a shrewd move from Rafa Benitez, who would be confident in his ability to bring out the best in the talented starlet.
