Newcastle United's first January signing could be genius bargain transfer – if Aston Villa don’t get him first
Newcastle lead a list of clubs linked with a January transfer bid for player who could deal with one of Eddie Howe’s biggest problems.
While few Newcastle United fans would have been overly happy had they been offered their current league position at the start of the season – firmly in mid-table and a point behind Sunderland – there is also a strong sense that this is a team which only needs a little work in January to challenge for the top four.
After all, injuries have been a major problem since the summer. Yoane Wissa has only just started getting minutes after months on the sidelines, and the defence has been ravaged by fitness issues. When at full strength, Newcastle appear to have one of the toughest back fours in the top flight, and that means that the health of the defence for the second half of the season could make all the difference between whether Newcastle get another year in the Champions League or not.
With Lewis Hall, Valetino Livramento, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth and Kieran Trippier all missing chunks of time, therefore, adding some depth at full-back should be a priority this winter – and according to new reports, that could be where Celta Vigo’s Óscar Mingueza comes in.
Why Óscar Mingueza could be the answer to Newcastle’s January prayers
Caught Offside started the rumour that Newcastle were keen on Mingueza earlier this week, with other outlets quickly jumping on the bandwagon – and while it’s yet to be widely corroborated by the most trustworthy sources, it’s certainly a story which makes plenty of sense.
Mingueza, a versatile 26-year-old full-back who can play on either flank and as a winger but usually operates as a right-back for his current club, is among the best attacking wing-backs in La Liga and has four caps for his country, but is coming towards the end of his contract in Vigo and is, as such, attracting widespread interest.
Aston Villa, West Ham and a host of continental clubs are supposedly keen on Mingueza, who began his career at Barcelona before moving to Galicia four years ago – but while many of those clubs will hope that he runs down his contract and becomes available on a free transfer, Newcastle should be in a strong enough PSR position to sign him this January if they like.
It may be expensive to sign a player who could soon be available on a free for a fee, but it’s unlikely that Mingueza would feel too expensive when compared to his productivity. At Celta Vigo last season, he scored four goals and provided six more in the Spanish top flight, and has continued to create and score at a similar rate this campaign as well.
Mingueza has his weaknesses – he isn’t a first-rate defender by any means but should fit Eddie Howe’s aggressive conception of the position at St. James’ Park – but he’s an excellent technician, a brilliant passer and has superb off-ball movement which lets him get into plenty of dangerous positions in the final third. He would likely prove to be a fine complement to a player like Lewis Hall on the left, and as a rotational option could easily be among the best in the Premier League.
But as it stands, this is rumour and conjecture rather than a transfer which is demonstrably close to taking place. So how likely is that Newcastle make a move this January – and would they win the race if they did?
Will Newcastle sign Mingueza this January – or will a team like Aston Villa get there first?
One barrier to signing Mingueza is Celta Vigo themselves, who are hoping to persuade one of their best players to pen a new contract – and that may not be impossible with the club pushing hard for a European place. They are currently one place and two points off the final continental spot as it stands.
That same success may well persuade Mingueza to consider his future closer to the end of the season, and the sheer number of clubs who could be in the market were he to become a free agent may persuade him to wait, as well. Free agents almost invariably command higher wages than usual with no transfer fee to offset the expense, and Mingueza has every reason to hold tight for now.
Still, Caught Offside claim that Celta could be fairly easily persuaded to let him leave this month in order to get a transfer fee of some form, and even suggest that a fee of around €8-10m (£7-8.5m) would be sufficient. For a Premier League club, that’s small beans.
It also helps that Newcastle should have the PSR headroom to make relatively minor January moves like that, even if they aren’t expected to be one of the biggest spenders in the country. That at least gives them the edge over Aston Villa, whose winter spending will be heavily restricted. They are unlikely to bid for him even if they may discuss pre-contract terms.
Either way, it’s too early to know how likely it is that Mingueza is happy to leave Celta this January, or how many of his various suitors will be in the bidding if he is available – but Newcastle have the need for more depth at wing-back, know that Trippier and Krafth likely won’t be at the club for much longer, and have the financial clout to get a deal done. It’s far from a certainty, but it’s hardly a reach to imagine this rumour proving to have some legs.