Newcastle now linked with ‘incredible’ 29-year-old playmaker, Trippier knows him well

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Newcastle United could now be offered the chance to sign Belgian international Yannick Carrasco this summer as he’s said to be unsettled at Atletico Madrid.

This isn’t the first time Newcastle have been linked with Atletico Madrid‘s Yannick Carrasco with rumours of interest in the winger dating back to the dark days of Mike Ashley as mentioned in the report by The Chronicle.

However, this time it’s not so much Newcastle seeking Carrasco but Carrasco’s representatives seeking Newcastle.

Newcastle had the opportunity to sign Carrasco for £16.3million

An intermediary working between Carrasco and his representatives name dropped Newcastle as a possible destination as the unsettled 29-year-old tries to find a move away from Atletico Madrid.

He was offered to several clubs for £16.3million recently according to Mundo Deportivo (via The Chronicle), Barcelona and Newcastle were reportedly included in that list, but now it’s believed that the opportunity to snap up Carrasco for that price has passed.

That will likely suit Atletico who are keen to keep hold of Carrasco as they see him as a useful squad player, as evidenced by his 44 appearances last season, during which he scored 10 goals and provided five assists. He also demonstrated his versatility last season covering five different positions throughout the season: left back, left midfield, left wing, centre forward and right wing.

At 29 years old it’s unlikely Newcastle would be too keen on the move

Carrasco’s versatility could be very useful to Newcastle, as could the fact that he is an exceptional talent with ‘incredible dribbling‘ according to Diego Simeone. As an Atletico player, Kieran Trippier played alongside Carrasco and will be able to provide insight to Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth.

As good as Carrasco is, I can’t see him joining Newcastle. His big issue at Atletico is that he’s not first-choice and I’m not sure he would be at Newcastle either. At 29 he’s probably peaking or already peaked, so Newcastle would be acquiring a depreciating asset, which wouldn’t have been so bad if we picked him up when he was offered at £16million, but now we’re likely to have to pay more, it doesn’t feel worth it.

Dan Ashworth and Eddie Howe might see things differently, however, so there’s still a chance that Carrasco could end up on Newcastle’s shopping list, then it’s just a case of convincing the player he’d get the game time he craves.