Newcastle United are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo, but would face stiff competition from Champions League side Sevilla, according to reports.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica claim that Arthur could leave the Old Lady in the January transfer window.
The Brazilian international is reportedly unhappy with his lack of playing time under Massimiliano Allegri and would be willing to seek a move if his situation doesn’t improve.
In his first season in Italy, Arthur made 32 appearances playing under Andrea Pirlo. But since Allegri came back to Juventus in the summer, the 25-year-old looks to have significantly fallen down the pecking order.
The former Barcelona man has been an unused substitute in Juventus’ last five Serie A matches and he has only started one match all season.
Across seven appearances so far this season, Arthur has only been given 166 minutes of action. With qualification for the Champions League last-16 assured, Allegri may give him a rare start at home against Malmo.
Arthur may have started Brazil’s last World Cup qualifier, but with next year’s Qatar tournament on the horizon, Juventus’ number five will be concerned that his lack of playing time could have an impact on his World Cup prospects.
Is Arthur a realistic signing for Newcastle?
For all of Newcastle’s new-found wealth, agents and clubs are going to be associating players’ names, who are seeking a move, to the Magpies ahead of the January window.
There is no denying that Arthur would be an eye-catching, glamour signing for Newcastle in the future, but the project is far from at that stage right now.
Eddie Howe and the club’s new owners’ immediate focus will be on securing Premier League safety and nothing more.
PIF will be targeting ready-made quality reinforcements who have experienced the rigours of the Premier League before.
Forking out a big-money deal on Arthur in January, at a time when he would have next to no margin for error and barely any time to acclimatise to a new league and surroundings, makes little sense.
However, if he remains at Juventus for the remainder of the season, but still wishes to leave in the summer, then Newcastle, who have hopefully retained their Premier League status, could step up their reported interest.
The technically-gifted midfielder would no doubt add some Brazilian flair to Newcastle’s midfield. But after Barcelona decided to swap Arthur for Miralem Pjanic in 2020, in which Juventus paid £66million to sign Arthur, the move hasn’t worked out for anyone involved.
Despite being lauded ‘incredible’ by Thomas Vermaelen after his start to life with Barcelona, Arthur’s career has stagnated.
Tyneside might be the place to reignite Arthur’s career, but any potential move to Newcastle from Juventus should probably wait until the summer.
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