£18m midfielder says Newcastle are a ‘good team’ after being linked with St James’ Park move

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It might not feel like it right now, but Newcastle United are a good team.

That is the view of Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, who has been linked with a move to St James’ Park during the January transfer window.

The Magpies did their best to sign the midfielder during the January transfer window last year, but were edged out by Chelsea. They won the race, landing Santos for £18million.

But rumours of interest from Newcastle have not gone away, especially after the 19-year-old’s loan spell at Nottingham Forest was brought to a premature end.

It has been claimed that Santos’ representatives would be interested in their client moving to St James’ Park, and now the Brazilian youngster has actually mentioned the Magpies during an interview.

Andrey Santos says Newcastle are a good team

Santos is currently on international duty, representing Brazil Under-23s as they look to qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

He has spoke to Brazilian website Globo Esporte about his start to life at Chelsea, and what the future holds for him.

“I thank God for the pre-season I had, which was very good for Chelsea,” he said. 

“Almost nobody expected that I would arrive and adapt so quickly, with great players, and I had never played in Europe. I played great games against good teams, Brighton, Newcastle.

“Regarding the conversation with Pocchettino [about his future], we preferred to wait for this Pre-Olympic, to decide my situation.”

Newcastle transfer will be way too complicated

Santos played for Chelsea against Newcastle during pre-season, with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw in America. The wonderkid was clearly impressed with what he saw from the Magpies out in Atlanta.

But whether that results in him joining the Magpies remains to be seen.

His immediate future is undecided, and a lot of things will have to happen for him to arrive at St James’ Park.

Firstly, Newcastle would need to decide if they wanted a loan or a permanent deal. If it was the former, they would have to fast-track their deal for Lewis Hall, as you can only have one player on loan from a Premier League club at a time.

If that hurdle was overcame, Newcastle would then need to try and negotiate a loan with an option to buy. Eddie Howe is not going to loan such a talented youngster if he is not going to benefit in the long-run, so that would be another make or break factor.

Given the problems Newcastle are having in the January transfer window, this deal feels way too complicated.

Santos might think Newcastle are a ‘good team’, but this probably won’t end in him heading to St James’ Park.