Presidential candidate for Santos Ricardo Agostinho has claimed that star man Marcos Leonardo won’t join Newcastle United if he wins the election.
Newcastle are very keen on signing the attacker in January but Santos are waiting to elect a new president in December before they decide the future of one of their key players.
In an interview with Diario do Litoral, Agostinho has discussed some of the decisions he would make should he win later this month.
Leonardo won’t move to a ‘small club’ in January
A number of teams have been after the Brazilian striker who is understood to have a price tag of around £16m, and Newcastle are one of the frontrunners for his signature.
However, Agostinho wants to make sure that Leonardo gets the best move financially for both his career and for Santos’ future, suggesting he will not go to a ‘small club’ like Newcastle.
Instead, the Serie A team would rather sell to a Real Madrid, Barcelona or AC Milan who they believe would be more financially secure foe the 20-year-old.
Considering Newcastle’s financial backing and the trajectory that they are currently on, rising up the Premier League and establishing themselves as a European side, it seems odd that Santos would be so against selling Leonardo to them.
In his interview, Agostinho said: “Oh, no, without a doubt. Our stance is, either he makes an agreement with us for this contract model with these triggers or he actually goes to a top team in Europe. And it doesn’t make sense, for him to play in a small team with all due respect, to play in Newcastle or anything like that.
“We need to have a focused athlete, who needs to understand that Santos is the pinnacle of his career in teams as big as they are, but that he will not play on a bigger team.
“So why is he going to play for Almeria? Why is he going to play for Braga? He has to play there in the same teams, at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, the same teams as Santos.
“Otherwise, it’s not good for him and financially it won’t be that different because we have plans that if he makes an effort, if he dedicates himself, he will earn a lot of money, it will help the club a lot.”
Leonardo could be perfect for Newcastle
Though Santos may not want to sell to Newcastle, Leonardo would be the perfect candidate to add to the Magpies’ attack which has struggled with injuries this season.
Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson have both been lethal in front of goal during this campaign, but their fitness records leave Newcastle vulnerable to having to play without a natural striker, and at times Anthony Gordon has been forced to play through the middle.
Isak has only just returned from a groin injury in the last week while Wilson remains out for at least another couple of weeks, so Eddie Howe is keen to bolster his attacking depth.
The problem Howe will have is finding a talented forward who would be willing to play a backup role for the moment behind Isak and Wilson, but Leonardo may be ideal for that given his age and lack of experience.
Learning under someone so technically gifted as Isak and so prolific as Wilson, Leonardo could become a star at Newcastle and make his name in English football.
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