Fabrizio Romano delivers transfer blow to Newcastle, £15.6m player is ‘closing in’ on joining Benfica instead

Add as preferred source on Google

Newcastle United need to sign an attacker in January, but Fabrizio Romano appears to have named one man who will not be heading to St James’ Park this month.

Recent injuries to Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson have increased the need for a third forward to join Newcastle during the January transfer window, with the Magpies ideally bringing in a much younger player who can grow and develop on Tyneside.

Marcos Leonardo looked like the ideal candidate, with Newcastle rumoured to be interested in the Brazilian striker. The 20-year-old is playing for Santos, but is heavily linked with making a move to Europe in 2024.

Major names like Real Madrid have been eyeing up his signature, but it was actually reported in late 2023 that Newcastle were the favourites to complete a deal. That sounded perfect, as Leonardo is a player with a huge amount of potential who could have eventually taken Wilson’s place in the squad.

We even named him as one of our dream Newcastle signings for 2024, but it now looks like that will not become a reality.

Fabrizio Romano says Marcos Leonardo is set to sign for Benfica

According to Fabrizio Romano via his official X account, Portuguese side Benfica are now closing in on a deal to sign Marcos Leonardo from Santos this month.

The transfer expert has stated that a £15.6million deal has been agreed between the two clubs, and all that is left to do is agree on how the add-ons will be structured.

In another tweet, Romano added that Leonardo will come a Benfica player ‘within the next 24 hours’.

Newcastle miss out on another Brazilian wonderkid

And just like that, Newcastle are going to miss out on another Brazilian wonderkid. Plenty have been linked during the past year, yet the Magpies continue to struggle to tap into the South American market.

The likes of Andrey Santos and Angelo Gabriel were heavily linked with moves to Tyneside, but they both joined Chelsea. Now Leonardo is off to Benfica, as Newcastle fall short yet again.

It is a real blow, as Leonardo looked like the perfect profile for this Newcastle project. And the need for another striker has only intensified with Callum Wilson’s fitness proving to be an issue once again.