Newcastle are looking at 23-year-old winger Francisco Trincao

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Newcastle United are casting a wide net when it comes to their search for creative attacking talent, and are now said to be looking at Sporting CP’s Francisco Trincao.

Reports coming out of Portugal suggest that Newcastle are one of several clubs monitoring the 23-year-old’s situation. As Torcedores reports, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are all casting their eye over the winger along with Newcastle. Trincao is currently on loan at Sporting from Barcelona.

Francisco Trincao is having a superb season for Sporting CP and they look set to activate their £6.1million option to buy with a view to making an immediate profit on the Portuguese international. Even if they exercise this option, Barcelona can buy him back for around £22million. They also get a 50% sell-on fee if Sporting cash in on the winger.

There are a lot of moving parts in a potential move for Trincao

It’s all very complicated and that’s why Newcastle are likely to tread carefully around this one. Add to this the fact that Trincao has already had a shot at the Premier League with Wolves in 2021/22 which didn’t go well for the youngster. Although after a defeat to Leeds, then Wolves manager Bruno Lage called Trincao ‘breathtaking‘ so it wasn’t a complete disaster in England.

It seems that he’s finally found his footing in Portugal this season having now netted nine goals in 41 appearances in all competitions for Sporting, as well as providing three assists. It’s believed that these performances will prompt Sporting to trigger the buy-out clause in his loan deal. It just remains to be seen whether or not they do this with a view to moving him on for a substantial profit.

Trincao has a lot of experience despite being so young

Trincao is a right-sided winger but is able to play across the front three which will interest Newcastle. He’s also represented Portugal at every level since the U16s and currently has seven caps for the senior side.

He has a lot of experience for a young player having played in the Premier League, La Liga for Barcelona, in the Champions League for Sporting and of course at international level. The fact that he’s being tracked by the top teams in England also suggests that he’s definitely a player we should get excited about should these links turn into something more.

It’s a complex situation, but if Eddie Howe feels it’s worth getting tangled up in it, he does sound like a great option to add to the squad.