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Newcastle ‘have made a £16m offer for Boca Juniors wunderkind Alan Varela’… but they are ‘ready to take on competition from Barcelona’ to land the highly-rated Argentinian midfielder
- Alan Varela, 19, has consolidated his position in the midfield of Boca Juniors
- Newcastle understood that they had made an offer for the Argentine defensive midfielder
- Varela, international with the Argentina U-20 team, has also been linked to Barcelona
Newcastle are ready to spend the money once again after reportedly making an initial offer of £16m for Boca Juniors midfielder Alan Varela.
The 19-year-old wunderkind, who has been linked with a host of European clubs including Barcelona, is believed to be a target for Eddie Howe and would ideally arrive in June.
Varela, whose release clause is 20 million euros (£17.7 million), has been lined up by Barcelona boss Xavi as a possible long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets. Sport reports.
Newcastle are understood to have made an offer for Barcelona target Alan Varela, who plays for Boca Juniors
Magpies boss Eddie Howe is looking for a ‘transformational’ signing and the 19-year-old is certainly highly rated
The midfielder grew up playing at Barcelona’s soccer school in Buenos Aires, where the Spanish giants have priority to sign players.
However, with Newcastle launching a bid, according to Radio Sports DHowe could beat Xavi’s team with the signing of Varela and further strengthen his squad.
Varela plays a fundamental role in the Boca Juniors team and started 21 of the 26 games last season.
He has played a total of 76 games for the Argentine club, while he has twice played for his country at Under-20 level.
Howe is keen to add reinforcements to his squad next month as they look to keep up their bid to secure Champions League football.
Newcastle’s initial offer is around £16m but the 19-year-old’s release clause is around £17.7m.
The Magpies boss has been open about the fact that he is looking for a ‘transformational’ signing, much like Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
He recently said: ‘We would love another transfer like (Bruno Guimaraes) because I thought it would be transformational for the team and for the group.
“They’re hard players to find, but that’s our job to try to find them and we’ll do our best to do it.”
“I do not intend to observe the players, I am observing them, with a view to signing them. I’m not acting like this when I’m home alone!’
The Magpies have also been linked with 18-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder Matheus Franca.
Howe has admitted that the club are conscious of ‘cuffing’ themselves ahead of the summer transfer window for spending too much in January.