Journalist Jacque Talbot has claimed on his YouTube channel that Newcastle United are keen on Portuguese ace Diogo Jota.
The Lowdown: PIF looking to make the next step
With Newcastle slowly losing their grip on the top four and Champions League football for next season, PIF will likely be analysing the transfer market and working with Eddie Howe to ensure there isn’t a similar story next year.
Therefore, bolstering what is a relatively thin squad in terms of quality outside of the starting XI is going to be crucial this summer if Newcastle are to kick on.
However, one link that has seemingly come out of nowhere is Newcastle’s interest in Liverpool star Jota, who’s recently recovered from a long-term injury and only just signed a new deal with the Reds last summer.
The Latest: Jota could cost around £60m
Given Newcastle’s struggles in front of goal this calendar year, recruiting Jota, who has 49 goal involvements in 99 games for Liverpool, would be stunning business – and Talbot believes PIF are indeed looking at the winger.
He said: “Diogo Jota, Newcastle quite like him which I was [quite] surprised about. He’d had a long-term injury, he signed a deal over the summer.
“That would be quite interesting. I don’t think much will happen on that front, I just think it’s quite interesting. It doesn’t mean Newcastle are going to get him.
“I did hear something like £60m or something like that.”
The Verdict: Would be a major coup for Newcastle
Since getting his big-money move to Liverpool, Jota has gone on to prove himself to be a versatile and reliable goalscorer for the Reds, however, the more recent arrivals of players such as Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez may see his game time reduced significantly, despite Jurgen Klopp praising him publicly, labelling him ‘exceptional‘ in recent weeks.
The Portugal international has proved he’s good enough to be a starting winger for any top-six side, and if Newcastle can guarantee him the minutes and sell him their project, we think it would make a lot of sense for both parties.
However, given he does still have a contract that runs until the summer of 2027, if Liverpool were willing to sell him for £60m, it would perhaps be quite a shock, but still something that the Magpies should indeed be sniffing around as he’d be a big upgrade on players such as Jacob Murphy, Ryan Fraser and Miguel Almiron, none of whom have reached the levels of the ex-Wolves man in the Premier League.
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