Last summer Newcastle United were extremely keen to sign exciting young Turkish talent Arda Guler from Fenerbahce before losing out to Real Madrid.
A few times before the 19-year-old eventually opted for Spain it looked like Newcastle might get their man, but it wasn't meant to be.
Guler moved to Real Madrid after the Spanish club paid Fenerbahce €20million even though his release clause was just €17.5million, this was at Guler's request to help out his former club.
The Turkish sensation had to wait until January to make his debut for Madrid, however, after a string of injuries kept him out of contention.
Now reports from Spanish outlet Defensa Central (via Sport Witness) claim that Newcastle are ready to land their man at the second time of asking and are willing to pay up to €50million (£43million) to do so.
It's believed that due to Guler's poor injury record this season, Madrid could be keen to offload the Turkish international this summer with the Magpies monitoring the situation.
Guler has only made eight appearances this season, but he did manage to score two goals.
Arda Guler is an attacking midfielder who plays through the middle mostly, but is also comfortable playing out on the right wing, which makes him an attractive prospect for Eddie Howe.
There is still a lot of hype surrounding Guler and it would be seen as a positive move for Newcastle, snapping up one of the best young talents in the world.
However, we have to question his fitness and whether it makes sense to move for a player who has missed so much football this season in light of the struggles we've faced keeping players fit.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
7 | 11 | 18 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
7 | 9 | 17 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
7 | 9 | 17 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
7 | 8 | 14 |
5 |
Aston Villa
|
7 | 3 | 14 |
6 |
Brighton
|
7 | 3 | 12 |
7 |
Newcastle United
|
7 | 1 | 12 |
8 |
Fulham
|
7 | 2 | 11 |
9 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
7 | 6 | 10 |
10 |
Nottingham Forest
|
7 | 1 | 10 |
11 |
Brentford
|
7 | 0 | 10 |
12 |
West Ham United
|
7 | -1 | 8 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
7 | -2 | 8 |
14 |
Manchester United
|
7 | -3 | 8 |
15 |
Leicester
|
7 | -3 | 6 |
16 |
Everton
|
7 | -8 | 5 |
17 |
Ipswich
|
7 | -8 | 4 |
18 |
Crystal Palace
|
7 | -5 | 3 |
19 |
Southampton
|
7 | -11 | 1 |
20 |
Wolves
|
7 | -12 | 1 |