A big update has emerged on Newcastle United and their pursuit of Marco Asensio in the summer transfer window…
What’s the talk?
TV Dello Sport journalist Rudy Galetti has revealed that the Magpies have been in discussions over a potential deal to sign the Spaniard ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
He Tweeted: “Newcastle put in their sight Asensio: the club has already held talks with his entourage. The player – expiring in 2023 – could leave Real Madrid this summer.”
It has been reported that a fee in the region of €40m (£34m) could be enough to tempt the Spanish giants into parting ways with him this summer
Eddie Howe’s own Sadio Mane
The Senegal international may have moved away from the Premier League this summer but Howe could now be about to get his own version of Mane in Asensio.
As per FBRef, the pair are similar players based on their statistics in Europe’s top five leagues and European competition over the last 365 days.
Asensio ranks in the 91st percentile or higher in non-penalty goals, shots taken, and non-penalty Expected Goals per 90 in the last 365 days, whilst Mane ranks in the 88th percentile or higher in all three categories.
The Liverpool man scored 16 Premier League goals from 16.7 xG and provided two assists, whilst the Spaniard scored ten goals in La Liga from 7.4 xG.
These statistics suggest that the 26-year-old, who also plays out wide, has the potential to reach the heights the ex-Southampton man did at Anfield as he has proven himself to be an excellent finisher in the final third.
He has previously been lauded by former Real Madrid players Guti and Raul. The former said: “Asensio is a lot better player than I was. He has an unlimited ceiling, his head is very well furnished and will depend on what he wants to do in the world of football. The future is in his feet.”
Raul added: “He has much to offer now and a great future ahead of him. He’s a young guy, eager to work and he’s currently doing very well.”
These comments suggest that he has the scope to develop further and replicate Mane’s goalscoring heroics in England, becoming Howe’s own version of the Bayern attacker. He can be the English manager’s go-to man for goals out wide if they provide him with the right service, as evidenced by his perfomance against his xG in La Liga.
AND in other news, PIF can land Howe’s very own Bowen as NUFC eye move for “very talented” £20m “baller”…
