Newcastle failed to act fast enough to sign 'perfect' right winger in summer - now he's performing brilliantly

The search for a new right-winger to come in at Newcastle United continues after another transfer window passed without signing a Miguel Almiron upgrade.

It's a position that has needed attention since the takeover went through but the Magpies have never really come close to finding the right player at the right price at the right time.

This summer, however, it seems that Newcastle had the 'perfect' player in their sights but failed to act fast enough.

Fabrizio Romano has told Caught Offside that they had Chelsea's Noni Madueke high on their list before Enzo Maresca realised how good a player he is and opted to keep him at Stamford Bridge, which was a move that is very much paying off for the Blues this season.

Noni Madueke was high on Newcastle's wish list all summer

Newcastle spent a lot of the summer being linked with Chelsea' Noni Madueke and Romano now claims that a deal was getting quite close during the frantic PSR scramble before they decided to keep hold of the 22-year-old.

“There were a lot of stories about Noni Madueke’s future at Chelsea this summer, and it’s true that there was at one point a moment when the Blues considered selling Madueke. They never considered a loan or that kind of solution, but in case of receiving an important proposal, it was a possibility for them to sell the player.

“That was at the end of June, and it came during that period you may remember when there was some confusion with Financial Fair Play and we saw Newcastle and other clubs trying some swap deals around England to make the FFP rules work for them.

“So, at that point Madueke was one of the main targets for Newcastle. Then what happened? After that, Chelsea saw how special Madueke was in training and in official games under Enzo Maresca. There is the feeling inside Chelsea that Maresca and his staff have been able to change the mindset of Madueke – it’s something they’ve been working on in training and you can see it already in official games."

Chelsea labelled Madueke 'untouchable' in August

Romano went on to clarify that a deal was never actually close and no discussions had taken place, but given that Newcastle were continually linked with an interest until the window closed and Noni Madueke turned into Lionel Messi, the fact that we didn't actually try to make this one work is baffling.

“It’s important to note that there was not even a negotiation between clubs, from what I’m told. It was just strong interest as Newcastle appreciate Madueke, but no talks, no price communicated, not even a discussion with the player’s camp. He was just very high on the Magpies’ list.

“Chelsea are super happy with him and he’s performing really well this season, recently earning his first England call-up, and so that’s why Chelsea decided in August to call him untouchable. He’s now considered a really important player for this project for this season and the long-term.

“The possibility of going to Newcastle was there in June, and for Newcastle Madueke was considered the perfect player. He was also on the list at RB Leipzig, who were looking for a winger and who also negotiated for Rayan Cherki. In the end they decided to go for a different kind of player in Antonio Nusa, but Madueke was also appreciated there.

“Now, however, it’s clear that Madueke is staying at Chelsea and is an important player for them after his fantastic recent performances, so it’s a completely different story around the winger.”