Newcastle United failed in a bid for Mainz striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta this summer, according to Sportbild, as per Sport Witness.
It is understood that the Magpies were one of eight Premier League sides who tried to take the 22-year-old from Germany, with Southampton, Watford, Everton, Brighton, Cardiff City, AS Monaco and Marseille also mentioned in the report from the German outlet’s print edition.
The article states that the Toon Army fell short with a £24.2 million bid for the Frenchman, who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a move in January.
OPINION
This is certainly an interesting one. You would assume that the Magpies went in for Mateta as an alternative for Joelinton, and if the report is to be believed, they might have saved themselves a fair amount of money in the process. Nonetheless, it was the Brazilian they ended up landing, but was he really the better option of the two? A quick comparison of the two from last season seems to justify the Magpies’ decision. Mateta may have scored more goals than the Toon star, but Joelinton got more assists, more key passes, more dribbles, and a higher Whoscored rating. Evidently, at the age of 22, neither player is perfect, but based on the numbers, you would have to say that Joelinton has a better foundation on which to build himself into a well-rounded striker.
