According to reports in Italy, Newcastle have had a loan offer rejected by Napoli’s Faouzi Ghoulam.
This comes from Corriere dello Sport, who claim we’ve turned our attentions to a loan move for the Algeria international in our search for a new left-back.
That said, the Italian outlet claim our ‘first approach’ has been rejected by the 28-year-old – with us offering a loan deal and the player himself preferring a permanent move if he’s to leave the Serie A side this month.
While our need for a new left-back is great following season-ending injuries to Jetro Willems and Paul Dummett, there’s a few good reasons why we’d be looking at a loan deal here (should these Ghoulam claims be true).
Firstly, not only will we want to assess the left-back situation this summer (with a permanent deal for Willems not out of the question), it’s worth noting that Ghoulam turns 29 on Saturday – so isn’t the sort of player the current regime have been recruiting on long-term contracts.
That aside, I don’t see permanent deals being done (if any moves are made in the next 48 hours) while a potential takeover is being discussed.
Having made just 5 appearances for Napoli this season, Ghoulam is in need of a loan move for game time, however I can’t see him coming to St James’ Park if he demands a permanent move.
