Newcastle likely to see £50m bid accepted to sign new CM

Newcastle United’s pre-season schedule is up and running.

On Saturday, in a behind-closed-doors match at the training ground, Eddie Howe’s team smashed Carlisle United 4-0; Sean Longstaff, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy and youngster Ben Parkinson all on target.

Next up on Saturday, accompanied by 10,000 Geordies, the Magpies will take on Scottish Premiership champions Celtic at Parkhead, which promises to be a slightly more high-profile affair.

Before then, will the Toon Army have another new signing to get excited about?

Newcastle looking to bolster their midfield

So far this summer, Newcastle have signed Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest, costing a reported fee of £55m.

This makes him the second-most expensive signing in the club’s entire history, behind only fellow Swede Alexander Isak, but is certainly an exciting addition, considering only two players registered more assists in the Premier League last season than Elanga.

Now, according to a report by Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Newcastle ‘have been told’ that a £50m bid for Conor Gallagher would be accepted by Atlético Madrid.

They add that los Colchoneros ‘are not actively looking to sell’ the England international, but would do a deal at the right price, just 12 months after he arrived in the Spanish capital from Chelsea for a reported fee of £34m.

Gallagher made 50 appearances for Atleti, only 27 of which were starts, scoring four goals, most notably on target during the Champions League derbi Madrileño in March, as his side were dumped out on penalties by Real Madrid at the Metropolitano.

Now, could Gallagher be on his way back to England?

How Conor Gallagher would fit in at Newcastle

Gallagher did not establish himself as an every-game starter at Atlético Madrid, but certainly made an impact last season, as the table below documents.

Despite somewhat limited opportunities, Gallagher ranked highly for all sorts of metrics at Atlético Madrid last season and the fact that the England international ended up in the top ten in terms of shots, assists, passing accuracy, tackles, blocks, interceptions and ball recoveries underlines that he is an all-action, well-rounded midfield player.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech asserted that he has “special abilities to be a leader”, while current manager Diego Simeone praised his “energy and intensity”, adding “he brings a lot” both in and out of possession.

So, the question remains, how would he fit in at Newcastle?

The Magpies’ most-used midfield trio last season was Bruno Guimarães alongside Joelinton and Sandro Tonali, so let’s assess how Gallagher compares to that tried-and-trusted triumvirate.

The very abbreviated summary of the admittedly gigantic table above is that Gallagher would fit into Newcastle’s team perfectly.

His statistics are comparable to those of Guimarães, Joelinton and Tonali pretty much across the board, particularly when it comes to duels contested and touches per 90, with Gallagher coming out on top for passing accuracy, tackles and interceptions.

The England international’s out-of-possession ability and work-rate would see him seamlessly slot into Howe’s team, even if he’d have to work to earn a starting spot, with Luke Edwards of the Telegraph asserting that the existing trio is the best in the Premier League.

Nevertheless, back in the Champions League, which means a more hectic schedule, Newcastle will require depth, and Gallagher could be just the man they require to get the best out of Guimarães, with the Englishman able to do more of the dirty work, allowing the Brazilian to be deployed higher up the pitch where he can do damage.

As the numbers suggest, the former Chelsea player has all of the tools to enable that to happen.

Related

Elanga will love him: Newcastle open first talks to sign “the next Mbappe”

Newcastle are hoping to sign a new striker in the transfer market this summer.