The Sun are reporting that Newcastle are among a number of clubs chasing giant Swedish center back Andreas Granqvist who is currently paying his trade with Italian side Genoa.
According to The Sun Newcastle are trying to hijack Liverpool’s attempts to sign him. Liverpool had a £4 million bid for him rejected in the summer and it appears Newcastle may come in with a £4.5 million bid although it appears to be seen if that will be enough to acquire the center half who has been capped 26 times for Sweden.
At 27 he is just above the age that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley said he would like to sign players at but the fact he has prior Premiership experience may be enough to twist Ashley’s arm. Granqvist signed for Wigan in 2006 for £880,000 from Swedish side Helsingborg before returning after 2 seasons in 2008. Since then he has played for FC Groningen in Holland before moving onto Genoa in 2011.
It appears Granqvist had a very prolific time in Holland scoring 21 goals in 96 appearances whilst playing in Holland and overall his record stands at 212 played 28 goals and 7 assists. So far he has averaged a goal every 7.25 games which is a very good return for a center back and compared to someone like Steven Taylor who averages a goal every 15.5 games
It appears he has matured since his time at Wigan and could potentially be a fix for the ever injured Steven Taylor. He could also fit in well at Liverpool to provide cover for Brendan Rodgers who has had to use youngsters such as Andre Wisdom in defence.
