Newcastle United may have been dealt a blow in their transfer pursuit of a seemingly long-standing target.
Indeed, much was made about Newcastle’s lack of a defensive midfielder last season.
Bruno Guimaraes, of course, has broadly done an excellent job in that role since the departure of Jonjo Shelvey, who operated there beforehand.
Still, there was even a suggestions during the 2022/23 campaign that Brazilian was playing somewhat out of position, having previously expressed a desire to play further forward.
Sandro Tonali arrived last summer of course but was more of an orthodox central midfielder and there were doubts as to whether or not the Italian and Guimaraes fully worked as a pair.
That’s not to say they can’t of course and Tonali’s season was obviously ended early but it wasn’t absolutely perfect before his ban.
So then, the signing of a new midfielder has been touted for a while now.
Kalvin Phillips was strongly linked with a move in January but, thankfully, Newcastle did not land the England international – who subsequently endured a torrid loan spell at West Ham.
Ederson of Atalanta was another tipped as a Toon target.
Hailed as “amazing” by pundit Owen Hargreaves for his performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last month, Newcastle were said to have taken note.
Things, however, may have changed since.
Ederson may have made a U-turn on his future at Atalanta amid Newcastle interest
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Brazilian – said to be valued at around £42m (an increase of the previously reported sum of £34m) – had been keen to leave the Italian club.
Still, having won the Europa League and with the UEFA Super Cup still to play for, the 24-year-old may now be looking to stay in Bergamo.
Newcastle may not need to make a midfield signing this summer
The lack of a defensive midfielder was a worry at times last season but the campaign before that saw Newcastle boast the joint-best defence in the Premier League.
With that in mind, there is reason to hope that Guimaraes can continue to do the job. He’s certainly done it before.
Tonali will be back and all of Elliot Anderson, Joe Willock and Joelinton will surely be confident about not having such big injury issues next season. There’s no guarantee of that of course but bad luck can only last so long…
Throw in Lewis Miley and Sean Longstaff too and Newcastle have six central midfielders. Given they usually play a 4-3-3, that could be enough cover for just a domestic season to focus on.
Missing out on Ederson would be a blow given the apparent strength of Newcastle’s interest.
Still, during a period in which the club are dealing with FFP limitations, perhaps focusing on other areas not so well-stocked should be the priority.
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