OPINION
Newcastle United must get pulses racing at St James Park by signing Inter Milan forward Gabriel Barbosa to solve their problems in front of goal.
The Magpies have been far from prolific this season and could do with welcoming a new attacker who could fire them up the table.
The club are very aware of this as Chronicle journalist Chris Waugh shared on Thursday that it was a priority for the club to recruit a striker in January and shared the hierarchy were ideally looking for someone under 26 with sell-on value.
“One area which is of the utmost priority is striker, given that Newcastle have only scored seven goals in 11 Premier League games so far this season,” wrote the trusted journalist on the Chronicle’s Live Blog (November 8, 15:16).
“The Magpies have watched a few forwards extensively in recent weeks – and the majority of them are based on the Continent.
“Rafa Benitez would ideally like a pacy forward who can provide an alternative to Salomon Rondon; someone who can play as a lone striker, or alongside another.
“The issue may arise when it comes to age profile, ideally, the Newcastle hierarchy would like to sign a player under the age of 26 who has a potential sell-on value, but Benitez wants a forward who is already proven.”
While Barbosa, better known as Gabigol, wouldn’t be the proven Premier League forward Rafa Benitez’s desires, he does tick the hierarchy’s boxes in regards to what they’re looking for.
The 22-year-old could soon win Benitez’s approval as after scoring 18 goals in 2018 for Santos, while on loan, the attacker has more than proven that he can lethal in front of goal.
Gabigol is also silky-skilled and would be able to impress the Magpies boss as well as make Magpies fans go wild with his exciting antics.
The Brazilian forward didn’t overly take to life at Inter Milan particularly well and this has left the Italian club only seeking a fee of £17.5million for him, as reported by Calciomercato, despite him impressing out on loan.
Gabigol’s loan is set to finish at the end of 2018, meaning a January swoop is possible if the Magpies decide to pursue.
When you consider that the player’s price tag would see the Magpies break their transfer record, which is still the £16million spent on Michael Owen in 2005 (Source: Chronicle), then there’s more of a chance of the club doing it if the player in question meets the hierarchy’s criteria.
Gabigol definitely has sell-on value given his age and due to the fact that his form at Inter Milan has seen his price tag be lower than would have been if he had made more of an impact.
With all that in mind, the Magpies should get pulses racing at St James Park by recruiting the 18-goal Brazilian attacker who actually meets the hierarchy’s demands.
