Newcastle have now held initial talks with £35m player, they think he has huge potential

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Newcastle United have held talks with Celta Vigo’s hero Gabri Veiga and want him for the first team next season but face competition from Liverpool.

After his two-goal heroics last night for Celta Vigo, 21-year-old Gabri Veiga patted the Celta badge on his chest and burst into tears as he was substituted. Many people are convinced that this was a certain sign that he’d just played his last game for the club he’s been with his entire career.

Indeed a move to the Premier League looks extremely likely with reports claiming that Newcastle had all but got the deal tied up after agreeing to activate his £35million release fee.

Newcastle may not be Veiga’s preferred destination

However, The Daily Mail recently refuted that claim and now The Northern Echo, while still saying that Newcastle are in the mix, have suggested that Liverpool could be the frontrunners for his signature.

Newcastle believe that Veiga is a ready-made first-team player and would slot into the main squad immediately, but they also see that he has a lot more potential to develop, which is where Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth appear to be targetting in terms of transfers.

The feeling is that Newcastle would rather bring in several players with clear potential and develop them into world stars rather than spending a huge chunk of their budget on one player already established as one of the world’s best.

If Newcastle can pull this off it will be a huge statement

The Northern Echo also claims that Newcastle have made ‘initial talks’ with the player, but Liverpool’s talks are at a more advanced stage. Newcastle have the trump card of being able to offer Champions League football, something Liverpool can’t boast next season, but there will be many more factors in play that Newcastle need to compete with Liverpool on.

Newcastle and Liverpool are also joined by Real Madrid and Chelsea in their interest of Veiga, but the Reds and the Magpies are ahead of both of those sides in terms of negotiations despite Carlo Ancelotti’s praise for the midfielder, saying he is ‘quality‘.

Veiga is an extremely exciting player and I hope Newcastle do all they can to oust Liverpool from pole position for his services. If we do it will be a clear sign that we are now at the elite table and we mean business.