Federico Fernandez has received interest from clubs in China, Russia and the Middle East – but he’d “love” to stay at St James’ Park for ‘many years to come’.
This comes from the Chronicle, who claim that the soon-to-be out of contract centre-back has a clause in his contract which allows us to extend his current deal by another year.
He confirmed during an interview with Sky Sports last week that he was yet to hold any talks with the club over his future – yet the Chronicle insist his camp believe they ‘still have time’ to sort out a new contract on Tyneside.
Here’s a snippet from their latest piece on the Argentine defender:
‘Federico Fernandez has attracted interest from clubs in Russia, China and the Middle East but the Newcastle defender wants to stay St James’ Park.
‘The Argentine’s contract expires in the summer and he is now free to speak to overseas clubs. While Fernandez has yet to hold talks with Magpies’ chiefs about a new deal, ChronicleLive understands the player’s camp believe ‘they still have time’ to sort out a new contract.
‘Fernandez is happy in Newcastle – his two daughters were born in the UK and the family have adapted to life on Tyneside – and would love to stay at the club for many years to come.
‘As ChronicleLive previously revealed, Newcastle do have the option to trigger a one-year extension on the 31-year-old’s current deal.’
It would be criminal if we decide not to hand him a new deal and allow him to leave on a free this summer.
The fact he’s 31 and reaching the twilight years of his career mean he’s not the type of player Mike Ashley hands new deals too – however his form on the pitch suggests he’s getting better with age and has a few good years left in him yet.
He’s a leader, has invaluable Premier League experience, rarely lets us down on the pitch and seems to be desperate to stick around, not forgetting the fact he’d cost a fair few million to replace should we let him leave for nothing.
This one should be a no brainer, yet, in true Mike Ashley style, it’s no surprise to see us taking a relaxed approach regarding the future of one of our most consistent players this season!
