Newcastle United have reportedly enquired about the possibility of signing Nuno Tavares once the summer transfer window opens.

The Lowdown: Newcastle need a left-back

Jamal Lewis fell out of favour with Steve Bruce towards the end of the 2020/21 term, having been left on the bench by him in the St. James' Park faithful's last 12 games in the Premier League, and only coming on for a mere six minutes in total during that time (Transfermarkt).

With Paul Dummett also in the frame, it does not seem clear who is going to be the starting left-back come the beginning of next season, and so it would be a wise move by the North East club to go out and sign one in the market.

The Latest: Newcastle enquire about Tavares

As per O Jogo (via Sport Witness), the Tyneside club have enquired over the availability of Tavares, as have both Brighton and Southampton.

They also face competition from Napoli, who see him as their number one target, and he could be available for as little as €15m (£12.9m).

This is in despite of an £88m release clause in his current contract, with Benfica very likely to let him go for a much lower sum due to the financial problems inflicted by the pandemic.

The Verdict: Newcastle should sign Tavares

Even though the Magpies currently have both Lewis and Dummett on their books, it would be a wise idea to go out and sign a left-back to cement a starting position in the team.

Tavares could well be that player, as at just 21 years of age, he still has a lot of potential, and if they were able to snap him up for £12.9m, then that could turn out to be an absolute bargain in the future.

Football agent Cesar Boaventura, speaking to Radio Marte (via talkSPORT) back in January, described Tavares as ‘one of the fastest players in the whole Portuguese league’ and claimed that ‘he can become one of the best in Europe’, which is such high praise and highlights just how promising a talent he is.

Nonetheless, the Toon can certainly get one over on their Premier League rivals by beating them to his signature, securing a specialist full-back and allowing Dummett to serve as a depth option for the back three.

In other news, find out what MBS insight Ben Jacobs has dropped on the potential takeover here!