Newcastle United are aiming to wrap up a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt defender Jetro Willems over the weekend, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper claim that the Magpies are trying to tie down Willems and winger Allan Saint-Maximan over the weekend, with both players having agreed terms.
The Chronicle report that the 25-year-old left-back is expected to swap Eintracht Frankfurt for the Magpies providing he gets through his fitness tests and medical formalities.
OPINION
Well, Willems’ potential arrival has come out of left-field. While the left-sided flyer has constantly been linked to a move for St James Park over the years, the Chronicle state he has been a long-term transfer target for five years, his name hasn’t been bandied about as much this summer. However, it seems this window is the one where the Magpies finally get their man. Willems is the ideal signing for the Magpies to make as they clearly need another left-back to provide first-choice option Paul Dummett with competent competition. Willems played 23 times for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last season, with 16 of his appearances coming from the bench, and averaged a rating of 6.31 (Source: WhoScored). Given that the 25-year-old struggled to nail down a place in the German’s club first-team spot, it’s hard to be overly critical of his rating. However, what is promising is that Willems still managed to average 0.9 tackles per game as well as 0.4 interceptions in his latest campaign, which shows he could be defensively sound. Also the 25-year-old is known for his crossing and set-pieces, as per WhoScored, and that implies he could be a new attacking threat for the Magpies down the flank if a deal goes through.
