Newcastle United are not interested in signing full backs Loris Benito or Andre Almeida this summer, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that, while The Sun reported in May that the Magpies were tracking Young Boys left back Benito, he is not a transfer target for the club at present.
Likewise, Benfica right back Almeida isn’t on the team’s radar. Rafael Benitez is in the market for new full backs, but despite Portuguese outlet Record claiming that they are in the hunt for Almeida, they are not thought to be one of the teams discussing a move with the player.
OPINION
This is disappointing news from a Newcastle perspective, in all honesty. As mentioned, Newcastle are looking to bring in new full backs this summer, so why not either of these two men? Almeida, in particular, would be an excellent signing and would really reinforce the right back position at the club. Benito, too, has proven himself to be a solid player with Young Boys who could do a job for the Magpies at left back. However, it doesn’t seem that either of them will be arriving in the north east any time soon. That begs the question of who exactly they are looking at to add to their full back positions? Both of these guys look pretty good on paper, but yet they are not thought to be in the running. Ultimately, though, this stalemate is probably a symptom of the stasis that the club are stuck in at the moment. There is massive uncertainty over the ownership of the club and the manager’s future, so how can they move ahead with any potential transfers?
