Newcastle United are willing to pay £40million to secure Hoffenheim striker Joelinton, according to journalist Chris Waugh.
The Magpies correspondent revealed the news in a Chronicle Q & A [26/05; 12:29], stating that the Brazilian has been a long-term target of Rafael Benitez’s side.
Waugh states that there is a belief that Newcastle would be ready to spend upwards of £30million on the 22-year-old, perhaps even £40million.
Benitez is said to have been given the chance to break the club’s transfer record last summer, but did not do so until transfer deadline day in January when he brought in winger Miguel Almiron.
OPINION
This is a bit of a bombshell, isn’t it? You often get transfer reports linking Newcastle with big money moves, but it’s rare that a reliable journalist like Waugh asserts that they are actually willing to spend a monster fee (by their standards) like £40million on one player. Joelinton has been linked with the club for a while and, as Waugh says, he is someone the team have been tracking for quite some time. Whether Newcastle are the sort of team he’d want to move to when he decides to leave Hoffenheim remains to be seen, but he’s certainly a talented prospect. He bagged 11 goals in all competitions this season, which isn’t a phenomenal total, but is pretty decent for a 22-year-old. When you consider his youth and his obvious talent, it probably would take about £40million to convince the Bundesliga side to sell. However, we’ll just have to wait and see if Newcastle decide to pull the trigger on this one in the future.
