Newcastle eyeing Alejandro Grimaldo | FootballFanCast.com

An replace has emerged on Newcastle United and their curiosity in signing Alejandro Grimaldo within the January switch window…

What’s the discuss?

Based on TuttoJuve, the Magpies are considered one of three groups eyeing up a possible swoop for the left-back halfway by way of the 2022/23 marketing campaign.

The report claims that Juventus and Arsenal are additionally eager on swooping for the previous Spain under-21 worldwide to bolster their respective squads.

It’s acknowledged that he may very well be out there to signal for a price within the area of €10m (£8.5m), though it stays to be seen how a lot Newcastle are keen to pay for his companies.

May axe Jamal Lewis

Eddie Howe could possibly lastly axe Jamal Lewis from the Toon squad by securing a deal to signal the Benfica full-back in January, with the Spaniard probably coming in to compete with Matt Targett at left-back.

The £50k-per-week Northern Irish flop joined the Magpies from Norwich for a price of £15m, rising to £20m with add-ons, in the summertime of 2020 and he has struggled badly at St. James’ Park.

Ought to Newcastle signal Grimaldo?

In his debut marketing campaign for the membership, he averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.48 – which positioned him final (24th) within the squad – throughout 24 Premier League appearances below Steve Bruce. He then endured a irritating 2021/22 as he solely performed five matches within the high flight earlier than being excluded from the 25-man squad in January.

These statistics present that he has flopped since making the transfer from Norwich and signing Grimaldo may permit the membership to money in on him in January, slicing their ties with him and admitting that the switch has failed.

Benfica sporting director Tiago Pinto beforehand hailed the Spanish gem as being “top-of-the-line 5 left-backs in Europe”, and his statistics make it simple to see why the chief holds him in such excessive regard.

Within the Portuguese top-flight final time period, he averaged an outstanding SofaScore rating of 7.33 throughout 29 appearances. He created 13 ‘massive probabilities’ and averaged two key passes per sport as he showcased his immense attacking high quality, while additionally making 2.7 tackles and interceptions per sport to indicate that he doesn’t neglect his defensive obligations.

In the meantime, Andrew Robertson (7.36) and Joao Cancelo (7.33) had been the one left-backs to equal or higher that ranking within the Premier League final time period, which illustrates how spectacular Grimaldo has been for Benfica.

On the age of 26, he’s additionally heading into the prime years of his taking part in profession and because of this Newcastle could also be getting him on the excellent time.

If he can adapt to English soccer and carry over an analogous degree of efficiency compared to his Liga Portgual kind then he may very well be a terrific signing for the Magpies and unlock Lewis to go out of the door.