Though they appear to have a bottomless pit of money when it comes to transfers, Financial Fair Play notwithstanding, Newcastle don’t yet have the pull of Man United whether they like it or not.
Things may change in the future of course, particularly if the desire of owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), to become the number one team in England comes to fruition.
For now, despite the Red Devils not having managed to win the Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, the club is still a huge draw for players.
That would appear to be the case for Marc Cucurella, who signed for Chelsea a year ago for £60m, per BBC Sport.
The Spaniard was apparently wanted by the Magpies on loan according to The Telegraph (subscription required), a move which would’ve allowed Dan Burn to slot inside in a more natural central defensive role.
Cucurella’s dynamism down the left side would’ve perfectly complemented Kieran Trippier’s raiding on the opposite side, however, Newcastle have missed the boat on this occasion.
Understand Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle with Cucurella on personal terms. Green light arrived on player side. ?? #MUFC
Man United won’t negotiate for any other left back now — as they want to get Cucurella deal done with Chelsea ASAP. pic.twitter.com/ZNmvb3Sgou
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 29, 2023
That’s because, as transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, has tweeted, Cucurella has agreed a switch to Old Trafford.
The loss of Luke Shaw for an as yet unspecified period of time has seen Erik ten Hag and his recruitment team move decisively for the player, and should he perform as well as he did for Brighton, which saw him switch to Chelsea in the first place, then the England international could find it hard to get back into the starting XI once he’s fit again.
Explain how we ‘missed the boat’ when we signed lewis Hall last week