'All the top clubs': Fabrizio Romano delivers devastating update on Newcastle United target Kees Smit
Newcastle United were reportedly planning to try and get a jump on things when it comes to the transfer of in-demand 19-year-old midfielder Kees Smit.
The Magpies are expecting that most of the interested clubs would be waiting until the summer to make their move for the highly-rated AZ Alkmaar midfielder, and that by going in with a bid in January, they could potentially avoid a huge transfer scrap.
January is always a tricky time to deal with, but when a club and a player are very aware that so many clubs are eyeing a move, it becomes all the more difficult.
Newcastle may well launch a bid next month, but Alkmaar are highly likely to resist any approaches until at least the summer, when they feel there'll be more clubs to play off each other, and Smit himself is in no rush to move, saying in a recent interview that he's not thinking about moving for at least another six months.
Fabrizio Romano isn't helping Newcastle's case
Now Fabrizio Romano has confirmed there is another wrinkle facing Newcastle when discussing Smit on his YouTube channel.
“All the top clubs are interested. Real Madrid have been scouting the player, for sure. Clubs in England have been scouting the player, for sure. Top, top clubs in England.
“All the top clubs are scouting this boy. When you see, in the media, €45-50million for Kees Smit, what I can guarantee to you today is that AZ Alkmaar are absolutely not selling the player for €45-50million.
“Way more is needed to sell the player. Not in this January transfer window. Sources tell me that AZ have already received proposals for something around €60million and AZ said no.
“So, for them, the player is worth way more than the reported €45-50million. The price is higher. So, for Kees Smit, there is a lot of interest, several clubs keen. In Spain, Real Madrid. In England, all the top clubs. There is a lot of attention on this boy, he’s going to join a top, top, top, top club for sure. At this stage, it’s still not a deal for the January transfer window.”
Kees Smit always seemed like a long shot
We always felt that, given the sheer number of top clubs monitoring Smit, this was going to be a big ask for Newcastle to pull this off, and now it just seems to be slipping further and further from our grasp.
Perhaps if we were in a better league position going into the January window, we'd be able to convince him to join, but, languishing in the lower half with inconsistency being our buzzword, we don't exactly look too appealing when you have Real Madrid keeping tabs on you.
Hopefully, we've got plenty of other targets of a similar quality in mind because we desperately need something in January.
