Newcastle United have been linked with signing Maximo Perrone, but he is now reportedly set for a move to Manchester City.
The 19-year-old currently plays for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, but we could soon be seeing him in the Premier League.
But while Newcastle had hoped to sign the midfielder, the Magpies are set to miss out. Instead, he is going to sign for the champions Man City.
According to the Daily Mail, Pep Guardiola’s will step up their bid to sign the teenager this week, as they close in on a deal for one of South America’s brightest young talents.
Not only that, but he is going to arrive at the Etihad for a bargain fee.
Man City to sign Perrone for bargain fee
The Daily Mail state that the deal to take Perrone from Velez Sarsfield to Manchester City will cost £6.5million. In today’s economic climate in football, that is an absolute bargain.
It is less than Newcastle were apparently going to pay for Perrone. It was actually claimed in November that the Magpies were willing to pay over the odds to sign him, with a fee of £12.3million being reported in Argentina.
The Athletic did state that Perrone was on Dan Ashworth’s radar, but it looks like Man City are winning the race to sign a player who was described as ‘spectacular‘ by former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze.
Perrone is set to become the second South American midfielder that Newcastle have missed out on to one of their Premier League rivals this month.
Chelsea have finally announced the signing of Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama, an 18-year-old Brazilian who Newcastle were confident of signing.
Now the Magpies are going to miss out on Perrone too, who looked like a cheaper alternative to Santos.
Their futures both belong in England, but neither will be playing for Newcastle. It is a real blow for Eddie Howe’s side, who appear to have moved on to Boca Juniors’ Alan Varela.
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