Newcastle: Fabrizio Romano claims PIF still interested in Matheus Franca

Fabrizio Romano has urged people to keep an eye on Newcastle United trying to sign Matheus Franca while speaking on The House of Champions YouTube channel.
The Lowdown: Newcastle looking to be active
Newcastle look set to be very busy in the final hours of the January transfer window, with Jonjo Shelvey looking set to join Nottingham Forest at the time of writing, which would leave the Magpies incredibly short in midfield.
They’re now being linked with moves for midfield players including Sander Berge and Conor Gallagher to help Eddie Howe consolidate his side’s spot inside the top four during the second half of the season.
While those two would be signings to improve the squad in the present, Dan Ashworth appears to also be looking towards the future, with Newcastle having already lodged two unsuccessful bids for Brazil star Franca.
The Latest: Franca could be a possibility
Despite having two bids rejected already, Romano hasn’t ruled out Franca making a January move to Newcastle as he is very well-liked on Tyneside.
He said: “They will keep an eye until the end on Matheus Franca, this big talent from Flamengo, – very good player, very good talent.
“They offered €20m in a package deal, so including some add-ons – I’m told it was €16m plus €4m but Flamengo said no, they want €25m.
“Let’s see if Newcastle will return with a new bid. But Matheus Franca is a player they want, they’re following and they’re always very good with young talents.”
The Verdict: Ashworth looking towards the future
Given that Franca is still only 18 years old, it would be seen as a lot of money to splash on someone so young, however, many will have a lot of faith in Dan Ashworth to get young signings spot-on as he did at Brighton with the likes of Moises Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma – who have lit up the Premier League on the south coast.
However, while Eddie Howe would welcome a player such as Franca to the club and love to develop him as a player, we think he would surely be happier with a first-team-ready player to help bolster his midfield options.
Both Ashworth and Howe will be working tirelessly with the final day of the window and their Carabao Cup semi-final set to take place on the same day, so it will certainly be a busy time on Tyneside.
