Newcastle United are now reportedly in talks to sign Julian Draxler.
That’s according to French outlet Le 10 Sport, who claim the Magpies have opened discussions with the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder’s representatives.
The 28-year-old is one of multiple players who are set to leave PSG this summer. Le 10 Sport name him alongside Layvin Kurzawa, Mauro Icardi, Ander Herrera and Leandro Paredes.
Draxler is apparently the one who is interesting Newcastle, and they are making moves to bring him to St James’ Park.
Draxler available for as little as £17million
It’s well known that Newcastle are looking for attacking reinforcements this summer, with players like Harvey Barnes linked. And Draxler is the latest name to be linked.
But while other targets such as Moussa Diaby have proven to be too expensive, Draxler is available for a much more reasonable fee.
The report states that PSG want between £17million and £25.5million for the Germany international. The Ligue 1 side appear to be happy to sell him on at a loss, having spent £35.6million on him in January 2017.
But with two years remaining on his current deal, PSG seem happy to move him on.
Toon in talks with someone who’s ‘technically’ better than Ronaldo
Draxler is a very strange target for Newcastle. He’s a player who was tipped for greatness at the start of his career, but hasn’t really achieved it.
However, he is a World Cup winner, going all the way with Germany in 2014. Not many players can say they that.
He’s also received huge praise in years gone by, particularly from his PSG teammate Marquinhos. The Brazilian defender has come up against the world’s best, and believes Draxler is just as good.
“I have faced the three current greats, Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar. But in purely technical terms, it is Julian [Draxler] who impressed me the most,” Marquinhos said in 2017.
“Even if he does not have the same speed as the other three, he eliminates his opponents through his control, his touches on the ball and his intelligence of the game.”
Fives years on, is Draxler still the technical phenomenon that Marquinhos thinks he is? He certainly could be, but his career has stagnated at PSG in recent years. He’s had injury bother, as well as the difficulty of getting into the starting XI.
Draxler needs a fresh start, and Newcastle can offer that. He has the ability to play out wide or as an attacking midfielder, and would add a huge boost of quality in the final third.
However, it feels incredibly unlikely that he will be coming to St James’ Park. We haven’t signed any big teams’ cast offs since the takeover happened, and now would be a strange time to start.
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