Former Newcastle United head scout Graham Carr attempted to sign Granit Xhaka when he played for Borussia Monchengladbach, according to Mark Douglas.
The Chronicle journalist claimed that the Magpies couldn’t afford that deal at the time, and would be hugely surprised if anything had changed.
Douglas reported on his personal Twitter account on Friday that it could be hard for Steve Bruce to persuade the Newcastle hierarchy to put together an offer for the 27-year-old.
Graham Carr wanted to sign Xhaka was he was at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Club couldn't afford it then. Be hugely surprised if anything's changed.
Am sure Bruce would be interested (as he would be in number of players). Getting it past hierarchy entirely different thing.
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) November 8, 2019
The Times reported on Friday morning that Bruce was a big admirer of Xhaka, and was prepared to offer him a Premier League lifeline after his recent controversies at the Gunners.
OPINION
Douglas is right to suggest that he would be hugely surprised and shares the opinion of pretty much everyone, with the potential of Xhaka signing for Newcastle surely very low. If the Magpies couldn’t afford the 27-year-old when he was in the Bundesliga, it is even more likely that they can’t now given the fact that his value has most likely gone higher since he has been at the Emirates Stadium. As the Chronicle journalist points out, getting it past the hierarchy at Newcastle could be tricky, especially with Mike Ashley not exactly known for splashing the cash since he arrived in the North East, and it took him 13 years to break his original transfer record with the signing of Miguel Almiron – which has since been broken again. Newcastle fans shouldn’t be too downhearted though, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing to miss out on the Arsenal man who has proved to be very unreliable in the big moments in the Premier League in recent years.
