OPINION
Newcastle United should sell Federico Fernandez in the January transfer window after it was reported that Rafa Benitez could be interested in signing the centre-back for Dalian Yifang.
According to the Chronicle, Benitez is a big fan of the 30-year-old and could make a swoop to sign him once the transfer window re-opens in the New Year.
It is understood that clubs from Spain may also be interested in Fernandez, and it would be a wise decision by Steve Bruce to try and cash in on the ex-Swansea defender as he does not appear to be in his plans at the moment.
Newcastle are well-stocked in the centre-back position.
Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, Paul Dummett, Florian Lejeune and Ciaran Clark can all play there and all seem as though they are above Fernandez in the pecking order with the Argentine earning just three appearances off the substitutes’ bench this season in the Premier League.
Fernandez is yet to play more than 10 minutes of action in the league and as his £43,000-a-week [Spotrac] contract expires at the end of the season, it would be a good call to sell him in January, get him off the wage bill earlier than expected and recieve a transfer fee in the process.
It’s not like Dalian Yifang are not going to be able to afford the 30-year-old centre-back with clubs in the Chinese Super Leage known for their tremendous spending power.
Dalian have made two big-money signings this year in Marek Hamsik and ex-Magpies forward Salomon Rondon, plus the acquisition of Benitez as their manager hardly came cheap with the Spaniard reportedly earning £12million-a-year, so it is not as if they’ll be hard to bargain with if they do enter negotiations for Fernandez.
Fernandez’s role in the Newcastle squad is diminishing, plus the impressive display by Clark in the 1-0 win against Manchester United before the international break only reinforces Bruce’s decision to freeze the ex-Swansea player out.
According to stats by WhoScored, Clark, who made his first league appearance of the season versus Man United, won two tackles, two interceptions, made two clearances and was not dribbled past once.
He, Lascelles and Schar were rock solid against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side with all three of them impressing with their statistics.
Fernandez must be praying for a break to get back into the Newcastle starting line-up but at the moment, that does not appear as though it will happen and a January exit could be a good solution for him, the club and Benitez.
