Newcastle United may have to make Nabil Bentaleb the top earner in the North East if they want to keep him on a permanent basis as a clause in his loan deal from FC Schalke 04 to do just this expires next week, as per The Chronicle.
There are reports coming from Bild (via The Chronicle) that it would cost £8.6 million to make the switch into a permanent one, but the English outlet claims that the fact that he is earning £80,000 a week, which is level with Jonjo Shelvey, may cause the Tyneside club to think again about whether or not Bentaleb would be worth signing for that much money on the wage bill when they hold their transfer meetings next week.
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Indeed, regardless of how much may have to be spent on a possible transfer fee and wage demands, the central midfield player may be a good buy based off of some of his stats in the 2019/20 Premier League season so far.
Compared with the likes of Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey and Sean Longstaff, Bentaleb has averaged the most interceptions, while also being dispossessed the fewest number of times and also achieving the highest pass success percentage, according to Whoscored.
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There is also the added incentive of the proposed takeover at St. James’ Park which may mean that the potential transfer fee and high wages may not be all that much of a problem, but only time will tell as to whether it is approved by the top flight and indeed whether the Magpies decide to make the Bentaleb deal a permanent one.
Geordies, should NUFC sign Bentaleb permanently? Comment below!
