Polarboy

Apparently Arsenal are looking to bring in a keeper from the MLS. So perhaps the rumours about Leno going out on loan and us being interested are true. I'd definitely take Leno given how poor Dubravka has been.

“An extra €10m and they will be happy” - Belief Newcastle ‘will definitely pay’ amount required to sign striker - Sport Witness Some German journo reckons we'll definitely pay the going rate for Plea and get him. Knowing very little about either Plea or Zapata I can say unequivocally that Zapata is clearly the superior player, and I'll be raging if we don't get him. Joking aside Zapata's scoring record is more consistent and generally more impressive than Plea's, who's goals have dried up a bit in the last season or two. All that aside I'm deadly serious when I state that I'm sure Plea would be a vast improvement over Gayle.

Optimistic has become the new getting one over the line unfortunately. Although in fairness we should remember that there's still 11 days left in the window, and a lot of stuff gets done in the final few days.

The Mail are reporting that it's Spurs who are the London based team after Carlos. The only things we have going for us is likely the fact that we can offer more wages, and are more advanced in discussions with Sevilla and the player. As bad as Spuds have been they can still boast Conte as manager, and have the advantage of being based in London which a lot of players see as attractive.

Reports in Italy that Atalanta are lining up an Austrian striker as presumably a Zapata replacement. So hopefully if that's true it's looking like Atalanta are getting their house in order so they can sell Zapata to us.

Almiron's agent is the Comical Ali of the football agent world.

Could Carlos really be all that mistake prone given they have the best defence in the Spanish league. They've only conceded 14 goals in 21 games. If Carlos is dropping a bollock so often surely it would be worse. I know some have posted some stats, so perhaps I'm wrong, but maybe his propensity to make mistakes is being played up a bit. I seen Giueme Ballbag say that he's great in aerial duels, and when you see the state of Lascelles trying to defend crosses into the box, I'd take the odd mistake for a vast improvement over that. Getting the right centre back partner for him will be key, if we ever get him, as is the case with most centre back partnerships, you get two players who make up for any deficiencies in each others game.

Sky Sports are now reporting that we're close to agreeing a fee for Carlos.

Carlos has taken to social media to dismiss the comments attributed to him about having plenty of time left at Sevilla. Or at least he's questioned the interpretation of what he said. He attached a facepalm, laughing and mouth zipped emoji's to a quotation of said comments. Probably not his fault, but he's going to need to come in and be the love child of Beckenbauer and prime Stam given how annoying the chase for his signature has been.

Agreed on Lingard playing in that midfield three if we sign him. He's disciplined enough to play that position and still make attacking runs forward. Edit. Of course we're in far bigger need of a good box to box, defensive mid.

Even if that's the case they'll still have a full week of training more or less before the Everton match. Of course our immediate concern is Leeds, but fingers crossed that gets called off.

If there are actually other bidders, and a premier league team among them, for Carlos, what's the bet it's fucking Gerrard and Villa again. Edit On another point I'm obviously not privy to the inner workings of transfer negotiations, but how the fuck does it take this long for either club A to realise that club B won't sell for anything below club A's limit, and conversely for club B to lay a marker down with how much they want. I know obviously there is some bartering and brinkmanship involved, but again it boggles the mind that either club A or B don't resolve the issue more quickly.

Newcastle close in on £30m deal for Sevilla defender Diego Carlos | Newcastle United | The Guardian The Guardian are saying that Sevilla have conceded defeat after Carlos's transfer request.

Yeah having checked he was a Pardew signing, but there was a bit of a cross over. It was Muto who we signed as a forward instead that season as 247 said.

Yeah Rafa wanted him, and ended up getting Riviere instead iirc.

Well that we're taking too long is debatable in the winter market given all that we know about how hard it is to sign anyone. It isn't going to be easy to sign anyone who would actually improve the team. I'm sure the rationale from the club is that they're hoping to get one or two for Leeds, and then really go after it through the break. Obviously we aren't privy to what sort of encouragement they are being given to sign the players they are currently after, and perhaps they are being led around by their noses a bit, but again who knows.

Lesser known players are lesser known for a reason, as in they haven't proven themselves at the highest level yet. We don't have time to invest in potential in some sort of Moneyball player investment strategy. Obviously you could land a player or players that hit the ground running, but it's less likely than if you go after players that have proven over at least a season or two that they can perform to a certain level.

Dembele isn't worth the hassle. He's reportedly asked Barca for a weekly wage of roughly 650k, and they've understandably baulked at that number hence why they're trying to get rid of him.

https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2022/01/17/newcastle-launch-25m-bid-for-colombian-powerhouse-as-alternative-to-benfica-star-report/ According to this both Atalanta and the player are open to him leaving this month. Seems like a no-brainer given Zapata's attributes, goal record and reputation. As I've said I'm no expert on Italian football these days, but even I have heard Zapata's name bandied about when people talk about the best strikers in Europe.

Seen an article saying that Gosens is unlikely because international football is very important to him, so if he moves he wants to be playing for a club in the Champions League who will give him the highest profile and level of football, which will in turn help cement his place in the German squad. Apparently Leicester were knocked back by him last year due to the aforementioned. Of course there are stories that he's accepted our approach, so either those stories are nonsense, or perhaps his love of country is trumped by having his wages quadrupled.

Fernandez is close to full fitness apparently. So that's a plus at least. Him and Dummett are our least error prone defenders.

Lascelles can get to fuck. He's built like a shithouse but when comes to the crucial moment my mum could out jump him for a ball in the box. His heading ability begins and ends with clearing balls when nobody is near him, and I suppose getting the very odd goal. I don't think it's a lack of strength or athleticism, so it must be timing and positional sense. We need two CB's at a minimum, given Schar is more than a little suspect as well, and Fernandez is injured. I have to say I'm very close to total incontinence and joining the bed weter's. We're likely going to need three points off Leeds just to not get cut adrift.

I don't watch Atalanta as I've already said, but Transfermarkt have him down as only having played at left back a handful of times over the last few seasons. Maybe he plays left back for Germany.