Newcastle United are reportedly interested in Lucas Vazquez.
The Magpies are not often linked with Real Madrid players, particularly not players with as many appearances as Vazquez has – with 35 in the Champions League alone – but having signed two first-team wingers in 2019 for a combined amount of £36.5m, it may be strange that they are being linked with another.
Neither Miguel Almiron nor Allan Saint-Maximin have paid back their respective fees of £20m and £16.5m in terms of goals, but they have proved useful this season and there are positive signs that they’re only going to get better.
Instead, Newcastle’s biggest problem is in the striking department. Joelinton arrived in the summer but has just one goal in 12 league games, and there is a worrying lack of competition for his place with Andy Carroll, Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto making just one league start between them.
With these factors in mind, we asked our Football FanCast writers if the £22.5m-rated player would be a good signing for Steve Bruce to make, and here’s what they said.
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Danny Lewis
“It is difficult to decide whether or not this would be considered a coup for Newcastle. On one hand, this is a player who has made 31 league starts for Real Madrid across the last two full seasons, but on the other, the Spaniard has never scored more than four goals in a La Liga campaign.
“The amount of games he has played for Los Blancos means there will probably be a rather large fee involved, so with Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron at the club, they would probably be better off investing that money to bring in someone who can regularly get on the scoresheet, whether that be another striker or a goalscoring winger.”
Matt Dawson
“If this transfer went through it has the potential to go one of two ways. He would either flop massively, or he’d be able to change Newcastle’s fortunes for the better. It’s difficult to work out which one he’d be, especially given the lack of end product the mercurial talent Miguel Almiron has. After spending £20m on him he’s failed to score while another big-money acquisition in the form of Joelinton is also looking like a poor piece of business due to his lack of goals.
“Whether that’s down to Bruce or not is a debate for another day. Playing in a Real Madrid team full of stars makes it easier for you to perform but Vazquez wouldn’t have that in the north-east so it’s difficult to recognise how big an impact he’d actually have. His record of 18 goals in more than 200 matches doesn’t point to a player that would be able to help them much. Newcastle need goals so Vazquez won’t help in that regard.“Steve Bruce needs to save his money and should look closer to home at someone like Dwight Gayle. After all, he netted 24 times last term. Surely he’s worth a punt before they dip into their pockets in January?“Vazquez may have pedigree at the highest level but this wouldn’t be a step in the right direction.” Lewis Blain
“A move for Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez would be a massive financial blunder on Newcastle’s part and one they ultimately must avoid. Despite there not being any specified fee involved, a player that has won three Champions Leagues is going to command a hefty price. Joelinton reportedly cost in excess of £40m and the Magpies have only received a solitary goal in return – they can’t afford to repeat similar mistakes.
“In addition, another winger seems like a waste of time, on top of money, considering Allan Saint-Maximin has looked ever so lively in recent weeks – it is now three straight games above a WhoScored rating of 7.2 while Miguel Almiron is proving to be effective despite a lack of goals – Steve Bruce’s frontline has looked a lot better with these two playing.
“His focus should be in attack and finding that final piece of the puzzle as the likes of Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle aren’t sufficient back-ups in the top-flight, and that’s excluding the injury baggage they come with too. They can spend similar amounts of money on a striker that would prove much more worthwhile down the line.”
Kealan Hughes
“This is a very interesting move if Newcastle were to make an offer for the Spaniard, but his addition could be of a detriment to the rest of the team, as it would send a message to Miguel Almiron that he isn’t good enough.
“Newcastle are performing well currently despite a lack of goals – with 11 in 12 league games – particuarly their wide men, so there is no reason why Steve Bruce needs to change things in that area.
“Considering his history there are likely cheaper alternatives out there, and the Magpies should be targeting young players, rather than a big-name who carries the risk of putting less effort in or lacking discipline, as other former Real Madrid players have done at lowly Premier League clubs, such as Jese Rodriguez at Stoke.”
