Newcastle United have reopened talks for Monaco left-back Antonio Barreca after a deal for Jordan Lukaku fell through, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper report that a loan agreement was in place for Lazio flyer Lukaku to join the Magpies, but the Belgium international failed a medical.
The Chronicle claim that Newcastle immediately revisited talks with Barreca after that deal collapsed, with the club previously agreeing a deal with Thierry Henry, who has now been replaced as manager.
OPINION
This would seem a sensible move for Newcastle to make after the collapse of the Lukaku deal at the eleventh hour. It looked like that agreement was just a formality after the player arrived on Tyneside, but it seems as though the club did not want to take any risks on the 24-year-old, who has had his fair share of injury problems in recent years. That will have been a gutting blow for both the club and Lukaku, who will now return to Lazio, where he is on the fringes. Barreca is obviously a player who the club were previously keen on, and revisiting a potential deal for him is a good move. However, a deal for the 23-year-old may become a bit more complicated after the sacking of Henry at Monaco. The Ligue 1 club have now re-hired Leonardo Jardim in a bizarre move, and the Portuguese may end up deciding he wants to keep the player around.
