Newcastle United reportedly now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Lowdown: Newcastle’s new Gascoigne?
Back in 2019, the player’s agent Claudio Vigorelli claimed that his client ‘resembles’ former Magpies midfielder Paul Gascoigne for his ‘physical qualities’ and can be ‘devastating’ like Gazza with his ‘technique and quality’ (The Daily Mail).
The former England international was a cult hero at St James’ Park, being their Player of the Year in the 1987/88 season, and scored 20 goals in 94 games in total for them across all competitions (Transfermarkt).
Zaniolo is still only 22 years of age, and given the comparisons to Gazza, he seems to have a big future ahead of him.
The Latest: Opportunity comes around
As per Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Newcastle now have ‘the opportunity’ to sign Zaniolo for ‘significant amounts’ of money, with Tottenham Hotspur also an option for the Italy international.
However, they will not be able to sign him in the January transfer window, but a deal may be possible next summer.
The Verdict: Makes sense
With the Magpies currently in a relegation battle, it would make a lot of sense for them to wait until the summer before they can assess whether they can sign Zaniolo.
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Currently rated at £36m by 16 goals and provided a further nine assists in 87 matches for Roma, showing that he has an eye for a goal and an assist.
At 22, he has so much potential, and if Newcastle can avoid relegation, he would certainly be an astute signing to target.
In other news, NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ with this DoF candidate