Newcastle offered chance to sign ‘special’ player on loan, he’ll cost £13.3m – journalist

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Newcastle United have been offered the chance to sign Joao Felix, but any transfer is going to be an expensive addition. 

That is according to journalist Ben Jacobs, who says that Atletico Madrid are keen to do a loan with no option to buy.

The current deal proposed to Newcastle would cost them around £13.3 million in terms of a loan fee and wages, and the player would only stay at St. James’ Park for six months.

While the addition of Felix could be an exciting capture, that sort of outlay doesn’t seem like a great deal in terms of value for money.

Joao Felix offered to Newcastle

WIth Newcastle pushing for the top four, the temptation for Eddie Howe’s side could be to go out and spend big in January.

But Newcastle have tempered expectations around signings since PIF’s arrival and their strategy has been very smart so far.

If Newcastle were to decide to pay over the odds to sign Felix on loan, it would go against almost everything that PIF have done at the club so far.

And unless the terms of the deal change, we cannot see how this transfer has any chance of going ahead, for that reason. 

On the face of it, Felix could be a useful addition to Newcastle’s squad though – just ask Kieran Trippier, who told BBC Sport he was ‘very special’.

Callum Wilson is an outstanding number nine when fit, but he continues to prove unreliable with injury.

With Chris Wood as back-up, Newcastle do have other options in the striking position, but very few have the class of Felix.

The Portuguese star may not have had the best time at Atletico, but that often owes to Diego Simeone’s defensive tactics rather than his own ability.

Felix was excellent with Portugal in Qatar, after being given more freedom than he gets for his club side.

The 23-year-old is a fine technical dribbler, who can glide past opponents.

His scoring record since moving to Spain isn’t the most impressive, but there is no doubting his creative qualities.

With the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron, Felix’s arrival would only add to Newcastle’s threat in one-v-one situations.

But, despite being given the chance of sign him, unless the terms of the deal can be negotiated, there appears to be little chance of this one going ahead for now.