Newcastle United are reportedly now looking into signing Galatasaray defender Marcao
According to TMW, the Magpies are ready to move on after failing to land Diego Carlos from Sevilla.
The 28-year-old was Newcastle’s top target after missing out on Sven Botman.
But Sevilla director Monchi has said he is staying (via Fabrizio Romano), with Newcastle simply not meeting their asking price.
But now Newcastle are after another Brazilian centre-back in the form of Marcao.
TMW are reporting he would cost around 15 million to sign, which is a fraction of what it would have cost to sign Carlos.
Marcao, 25, has been with Gala since 2019, joining from Portuguese club GD Chaves.
To date, he has clocked up 126 appearances for the Turkish giants, and has been a mainstay in their side pretty much since his arrival.
Marcao’s name might be recognisable to some people.
He hit headlines for completely the wrong reasons earlier this season, when he attacked his own teammate Kerem Akturkoglu during a game against Giresunspur (via Daily Mail).
He was hit with an eight-match ban for that, and was also fined £1800 by the Turkish Football Federation.
He issued a grovelling apology after the incident on social media to Akturkoglu and his parents.
Marcao is someone Newcastle should probably steer clear of
It has been well documented how desperate Newcastle are for new centre-backs.
But the club expressing interest in Marcao is a bit of a surprise and also a slight concern.
Newcastle not only need to be bringing in quality players, but people who are ideally model professionals that are reliable.
Marcao likely regrets what happened and is no doubt sorry for his actions.
However, it is a difficult one to ignore. Given the precarious position Newcastle are in, it’s probably best for the club to look at other alternatives.