Newcastle United are considering two alternatives for their forward line after missing out on Victor Munoz, according to iNews’ Mark Douglas.
Munoz was Newcastle’s main target after Anthony Gordon’s move to Barcelona, but Liverpool stepped in late and completed a deal for the Osasuna winger by simply paying his release clause, something NUFC wasn’t interested in doing, instead splitting the figure into two different payments.
Douglas reported that Newcastle had reached an advanced stage in the negotiations
before the collapse, but at the end of the day, it was clearly the Magpies’ fault for not avoiding said negotiations by going straight to the clause.
“The deal was so close that a US medical had already been scheduled and the terms of the transfer had been thrashed out,” Douglas reported.
The report added that Newcastle had a €38 million fee accepted by Osasuna, with wages, agent fees, and payment terms also agreed. Real Madrid’s sell-on clause had also been settled.
However, Douglas confirmed that Liverpool triggered Munoz’s release clause after the player changed his mind, despite Newcastle reportedly receiving verbal assurances from the player, his family and his agent. Waited too much… and voila!
According to Douglas, Newcastle are now looking at less-appealing alternatives, including Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli.
The report states that nothing is imminent on any of those two fronts, which is concerning given how that lack of urgency led to the Munoz debacle, as well as confirming that Newcastle once again face competition for their targets, with Aston Villa—bound for the Champions League next season—also looking for a left-sided forward and tracking the aforementioned players.
For now, let’s hope the club avoids yet another window losing momentum time after time after it already went that route last summer.
