Newcastle United have reportedly been urged to sign Nabil Bentaleb on a permanent deal from German club Schalke 04 after only initially having him on loan for the 2019/20 season.

According to Bild (via NUFC 360), the Bundesliga outfit are hoping that the Magpies will opt to buy the former Tottenham Hotspur man on a permanent basis for €10m, which is the equivalent of around £9.1m.

 

Schalke would apparently like to use the potential transfer fee that they receive for Bentaleb to improve their own squad for the upcoming summer transfer window.

However, the Gelsenkirchen-based are nervous to discover what the plans are for the 25-year old at St. James' Park, as there has not yet been any contact between the two clubs to discuss a possible move, and Steve Bruce has admitted that deals such as this one for loan players will not be sorted out quickly.

Newcastle may be looking to potentially push the asking price down if they are to negotiate a permanent transfer for Bentaleb in the summer.

Indeed, the Algerian international could be a decent buy based off of his stats so far in the 2019/20 Premier League season compared with some of the other central midfield players currently with the Magpies.

Bentaleb has averaged more interceptions per game than Isaac Hayden, Jonjo Shelvey and Sean Longstaff, and also boasts the highest passing accuracy out of all of them, as per Whoscored.

Whether Newcastle decide to sign him on a permanent deal is another question, but it could well be a good move based on some of Bentaleb's statistics compared to the other midfielders at the club as well as a potentially lowered asking fee.

Geordies, would you like Newcastle to sign Bentaleb permanently? Comment below with your views!