Yoshinori Muto’s loan spell in Spain went from bad to worse last night, with his torrid time in La Liga ending in relegation and an early bath.
Not only was he subbed off just 35 minutes into their hammering at Valencia on Sunday – a defeat that confirmed their relegation – this was his first start since February; which is no real surprise when he’s scored just one league goal all season!
The Chronicle reported just a few months ago that Eibar were considering pursuing the 28-year-old on a permanent deal, however these hopes will have been dashed now they’ve gone down.
After all, he earns a reported £55,000-per-week at Newcastle, so it’s now pretty clear Eibar won’t have the luxury of turning his loan into a permanent deal.
Where next for him you wonder? He’s clearly out of Bruce’s plans and, unlike Lejeune, has done himself no favours out in Spain, meaning yet another loan move could be on the cards this summer to help keep our wage bill down before he’s released next summer.
On the subject of fellow loanee Florian Lejeune, he followed up a man of the match display in a 2-0 win over Elche with an assist in Alaves’ 4-2 win over Granada last night – a result that makes them safe heading into the final weekend of the 2020/21 La Liga season.
It seems pretty clear Alaves – who still have former Mag Joselu on their books – will be looking to sign the Frenchman on a permanent deal, however there’s many who believe Bruce should give him another shot after proving his fitness and impressing during his year back in Spain.
As for Muto, he looks set to be the latest flop we’ll struggle to move on until his contract expires next summer, with a bad season in Spain and relegation on his CV reducing our hopes of a permanent exit in the coming months.
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