Newcastle in the race for “world-class” £25m star

Newcastle United have returned to the top of their game over the past month or so, winning seven matches in a row across all competitions.

Revived mid-season form is great and all but Eddie Howe will be focused on maintaining such fluency over the business months of the campaign, with the Carabao Cup title up for grabs and Champions League qualification through the Premier League the biggest priority.

Transfer activity isn’t the be-all and end-all in January, but it wouldn’t hurt if a player capable of lifting the Magpies squad was welcomed.

Newcastle’s transfer priorities this year

The interminable struggle for a right-sided forward continues, though the need for a fresh face has been tempetred by Jacob Murphy’s fine form this season.

Miguel Almiron is expected to be sold, freeing up space for such a venture, while the 35-year-old Martin Dubravka is expected to lay down the gloves in the Premier League and move to the Saudi Pro League for one last bumper paycheck.

The most pressing concern, however, remains the lack of depth at centre-back. Four bids – the last totalling £65m – were chucked at Crystal Palace last summer for Marc Guehi but Steve Parish’s resolve remained annoyingly fixed.

Fabian Schar is in talks to extend his deal at St. James’ Park but Jamal Lascelles, injured this season, will leave at the end of his contract in June. Sven Botman has recently returned from a knee injury he picked up in March.

Newcastle could do with a bit more at the back, especially when planning for a European future.

Howe interested in La Liga star

Spanish sources have revealed that Newcastle are interested in signing Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade this winter, though they will face stern competition from Liverpool.

The report suggests that both sides have ‘closely followed’ the defender in recent times, with the Premier League pair said to view his signing as a ‘priority’.

United need to bolster their backline, and, while Bade wouldn’t come cheap, he is understood to have a price tag in the region of €30m (£25m), ostensibly within Newcastle’s parameters.

What Loic Bade would bring to Newcastle

Bade is a defender in the modern vein, ranking among the top 12% of La Liga centre-backs this season for assists (0.08), the top 1% for successful take-ons (0.68) and the top 4% for tackles (2.12) per 90, as per FBref.

A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig has said that he “will be a world-class defender in the future,” only 24 years old but already showing high quality and an ability to overcome adversity.

Of course, he has already tasted Premier League football, in a sense, in the past, signing for Nottingham Forest from French club Rennes on loan in 2022 but failing to make a single top-flight appearance, suffering from the overload of signings as the City Ground side sought to ensconce themselves safely in the division after promotion.

He would leave on a loan deal to Sevilla in January 2023, with the rest history – as they do say. Now having chalked up 75 appearances with the Spanish side, Bade has lifted the Europa League and established himself as one of the country’s finest defneders.

Should Newcastle forge ahead and complete a deal, Howe could find himself repeating the neat trick that saw Alexander Isak brought to the club. In 2022, Newcastle signed the Sweden striker from Real Sociedad for £63m, a fee that still stands as the club record.

Bade would be leaving the Spanish scene having begun to unlock his qualities, much like Isak after the 25-year-old forward posted 23 goals across his final two full La Liga campaigns.

Now an absolute menace in the English top flight, Howe has shown that his talent radar is unerring when he settles on the right player, with Liverpool’s intrigue in Bade’s signature corroborating the Magpies’ hopes in the France international’s skill set.

Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher has even gone as far as to hail Isak as the “best striker in the Premier League right now” after his scoring 14 goals across 15 appearances, though in truth, the eye test makes a more convincing comment on his quality than numbers ever will.

Further similarities can be identified through Isak’s failed stint with Borussia Dortmund, preceding his transfer to Sociedad, for he scored one goal and supplied one assist across 13 appearances in Germany.

Isak’s talent was recognised but the move came at the wrong time, and you could say the same thing for Bade at Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle are a team of quality, for sure, but there is also a hive-minded drive and determination that serves as the solvent for any impressive skills and so on and so forth. Bade that the tenacious focus to succeed, and Newcastle need to get the deal done this month, ending the ruefulness that lingers after the botched Guehi bid and completing a defensive line that already stand strong despite lacking some cogs.

Whether Newcastle succeed in their efforts to shore up their backline with this talent remains to be seen, but there’s no question that he has tailor-made skills for the Premier League and could be a force to be reckoned with at the base of Howe’s system.

Partnered with Botman, United could enjoy quite the dynamic partnership at the back. Bade is hardly similar to Isak but his acquisition could be something of a repeat for Howe’s side, taking Newcastle one step closer to the summit of European football.