It is 'increasingly certain' that Kieran Trippier will be leaving Newcastle United this summer and while the Magpies have options it seems that they will still seek a replacement should he go.
Tino Livramento is the first-choice candidate to take over the role should Kieran Trippier depart, with Emil Krafth and potentially Harrison Ashby backing him up.
However, it could be the case that Newcastle also try to move on Emil Krafth this summer too, which would definitely leave Newcastle with a hole in their squad at right-back.
This is likely why they're now looking at potential options with Newcastle looking towards the Spanish Segunda Division for a contingency plan.
Sky Sports Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio is reporting that Italian side Bologna are looking at AD Almeria's exciting young right-back Marc Pubill this summer but also dropped Newcastle's name as another interested party along with Roma.
Pubill has a €40million (£33.6million) release clause in his Almeria contract, but given their relegation last season, it's believed they'd find it hard to get any side to activate it, meaning Pubill could be on the move for much less.
Almeria only signed Pubill last summer from Levante for €5million (£4.2milllion) and has a contract which runs to 2029, but if a decent enough bid came in, you'd expect that Almeria would have to accept it.
Pubill played 23 times for Almeria last season and contributed a goal and three assists along the way. That hardly makes him stand out as a direct replacement for Trippier with his assist record, but at 21, there's a long way to go.
Should Newcastle sell Trippier and Krafth, that would leave us with Livramento and Ashby who are both still very young, so signing another youngster doesn't really make that much sense.
However, if Krafth is to remain at the club and we bring in Pubill, then we can definitely see that working.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
12 | 16 | 31 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
12 | 5 | 23 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
4 |
Arsenal
|
12 | 9 | 22 |
5 |
Brighton
|
12 | 5 | 22 |
6 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
12 | 14 | 19 |
7 |
Nottingham Forest
|
12 | 2 | 19 |
8 |
Aston Villa
|
12 | 0 | 19 |
9 |
Fulham
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
10 |
Newcastle United
|
12 | 0 | 18 |
11 |
Brentford
|
12 | 0 | 17 |
12 |
Manchester United
|
12 | 0 | 16 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
12 | -1 | 15 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
12 | -4 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
12 | -7 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
12 | -8 | 10 |
17 |
Wolves
|
12 | -8 | 9 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
12 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Crystal Palace
|
12 | -7 | 8 |
20 |
Southampton
|
12 | -15 | 4 |