So apparently Gelson Martins isn’t coming to Newcastle after all.
In the most exciting rumour of the month, the Magpies launched a loan bid for the Portuguese winger. However, Wednesday evening brought news that Monaco had hijacked our move for the 23-year-old.
It was all too good to be true. Martins is a player who would have transformed Newcastle’s attack, but alas he won’t be playing in black and white this season.
But all is not lost, he wasn’t the only player we launched a loan bid for Yesterday.
No deal for Martins, but what about Barreca?
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The left-back joined the French club last summer from Torino. Much more of an unknown quantity, it’s understandable why fans were much more excited by the lad from Atletico Madrid.
But now it looks like Barreca is the only one of the two who could play for Newcastle this season. And then things got worse when BT commentator David Crossan weighed in on Newcastle’s interest.
Not really a glowing reference.
But when you’ve got no money to spend and leave all your business to the last week of the window, what else can the Magpies hierarchy expect?
It’s this kind of approach that has cost us in years gone by, and the exact reason why Rafa Benitez is at breaking point.
Sure, Benitez might be able to get a tune out of Barreca. However, when a player is described as “worse for Monaco than Manquillo did for Marseille”, you have to be a little worried.
Classic Newcastle. It couldn’t be the duff player whose move collapsed. It just had to be Martins.