Nathan Collins is set to have his medical with Wolverhampton Wanderers and is set to be announced as their new signing. Wolves’ agreed fee for Collins of £20.5 million with Burnley, according to John Percy of The Telegraph. It was reported that Newcastle wanted to sign him a few weeks ago by The Mirror.
It’s been a fairly quiet transfer window for Bruno Lage’s side, but they’ll hope this signing can kickstart an exciting window for them. From a Magpies perspective, it’s not a big loss, despite the links.
We previously reported on the fact Newcastle wanted Collins. However, we stated that the club shouldn’t pay the proposed £25 million fee for him. Burnley ended up accepting a lower fee for the centre-back, but the Toon made the right decision.
With only a season of Premier League football under his belt, Newcastle made the right call to not splash the cash on Collins
Wolves’ agreed fee for Collins was certainly a hefty one. There’s no doubt the Republic of Ireland international has shown plenty of promise.
But forking out over £20 million for a defender who has only played a season of Premier League football is a gamble. In addition, the Magpies can set their sights on players of a higher quality. For example, they were able to sign Sven Botman from Lille. The centre-back is a Netherlands under-21 international and has a Ligue 1 winners medal to his name.
However, we can see why Newcastle wanted Collins. He could’ve been effective cover at the back and has plenty of room to grow and develop.
Having said that, if the Toon were to sign another defender, they’d have to wait. Whilst Ciaran Clark is set for a medical with Sheffield United, Federico Fernandez is still at the club. There hasn’t been much chatter on where the Argentine will go.
He would have to leave the club for Eddie Howe to bring in another centre-back. At the moment improving their attacking options out wide and upfront seems to be the priority.
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