Newcastle United have emerged as serious contenders to sign a new attacker from Brazil in January, but they aren’t the only club that are keen to bring him to the Premier League.
How have Newcastle started the season?
In the English top flight, Eddie Howe’s side have made a mixed start to the new campaign, having won four, drawn one and lost three of their opening eight fixture, meaning that as it stands, they find themselves eighth in the table during the October international break.
The Magpies currently have nine squad members away representing their respective nations, including the likes of Kieran Trippier with England, Bruno Guimaraes with Brazil and Miguel Almiron with Paraguay (The Shields Gazette), so this break in domestic action will allow chiefs to start assessing their transfer options ahead of the start of the new year.
The St. James’ Park outfit only have Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes as their natural left-wingers in the building, and with the latter out on the sidelines having sustained a long-term foot injury, PIF have turned their attention towards Corinthians star Wesley to potentially provide the relevant cover and competition for places.
The Brazilian attacker, who is just 18 years of age, has already received an offer from Everton, so the north-east outfit are clearly set to face stiff competition for the teenager’s services, but if the following update is to be believed, they are willing to give it a good go.
Wesley transfer update
According to Bolavip Brazil (via Sport Witness), which has delivered a transfer update on Wesley, Newcastle are “in the picture” to sign the exciting, up-and-coming talent from Corinthians.
He has “managed to draw attention” from chiefs who are “interested” in recruiting him, with a move being made having the possibility to “change everything”.
Howe’s target has a €100m (£86m) release clause included in his deal, which isn’t set to expire for another four years (Corinthians contracts), and it’s stated that a swoop would be affordable, with the hierarchy expected to come to the negotiating table with a bid.
How many goals has Wesley scored?
Since the start of his career, Wesley has only racked up six involvements – five goals and one assist – in 45 appearances (as per Transfermarkt – Wesley statistics), so he still has plenty of work to do on his finishing in the final third, but there’s no doubt that he’s got the necessary potential to succeed.
The Sao Paulo native, who is sponsored by Nike, ranks in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons compared to positional peers playing at a similar level over the last year according to FBref – Wesley statistics), so he loves to use his pace, dribble past his marker and create chances for himself and his teammates in the opposition’s area.
In addition, Wesley is a versatile operator having been deployed in six different positions over the field since first bursting onto the professional scene, including everywhere across the frontline and two roles in the midfield, so whilst he’s perhaps not quite ready to be thrown in at the deep end, he’s a youngster who could come good in the near future.
