OPINION
Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has been seeking out a left-back in this transfer window, but that search now looks to have been handed a major blow.
Reliable journalist John Percy – who is a Midlands football reporter for the Telegraph – has claimed on his personal Twitter account that Aston Villa have had a £6 million bid accepted for Bristol City left-back Joe Bryan.
#avfc have had a bid worth up to £6m for Bristol City defender Joe Bryan accepted. Could be the first major signing under Villa’s new owners
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) August 6, 2018
This news will come as a major blow to the Magpies, as it was only reported last month that Benitez was poised to offer the same amount to secure the Championship ace’s services.
Yet again, it potentially looks like United have been beaten to the signature of another one of their prime transfer targets, meaning that the Spaniard’s left-back saga is set to roll on.
Newcastle’s pursuit of Stanley N’Soki could still be on the cards according to Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie, who has claimed on Twitter that there’s ‘still a chance’ a move could happen.
This means that all is not lost for United, but possibly missing out on such a bright talent would surely be a kick in the teeth for Benitez as he came so close to landing the player himself not long ago.
The club should have made the bid a lot earlier, but they have obviously been prioritising their pursuit of striker Salomon Rondon above everything else, meaning their interest in Bryan was evidently on the back burner.
Whether they were serious or not, a swoop for the Bristol City player looks increasingly unlikely, and he could be staying in the Championship instead of taking the step up to the top-flight.
This is not Benitez’ fault, but hopefully the club have learnt their lesson to pursue their targets a lot earlier.
