It’s been a fruitless and frustrating summer so far for us Newcastle fans, however it looks like one loan signing is edging closer to completion for Steve Bruce.
A few days after The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards revealed that we were pushing ahead with a move for Man Utd centre-back Axel Tuanzebe, there’s since been a couple of positive signals to suggest this deal can go ahead.
First off, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that the 23-year-old will be allowed to leave Old Trafford, with the imminent £34m arrival of Raphael Varane putting OGS in a position to sanction Tuanzebe’s exit.
“With Raphael looking like everything sorted, can see Axel going out“, said Solskjaer last night.
So, he’ll be given the green light from Man Utd’s end when the Varane deal is made official, and it seems the player himself is also keen to complete a temporary move to Tyneside.
As mentioned above, The Chronicle reported yesterday that ‘the player and his camp have been ‘delighted’ by the the club’s interest.’ With both updates in mind, it’s hard to see what’ll stop this one from going ahead.
Solskjaer is clearly happy to let him leave on loan now he’s got Varane, Tuanzebe and his team are buoyed by our interest, Bruce knows him well after signing him for Villa a few seasons back and the NUFC boss will also have a good relationship with former club Man Utd.
Not only that, he’ll be handed regular game time at Newcastle and appears to be exactly the sort of player our backline lacks, with him offering the sort of pace and athleticism our ageing defence is crying out for.
For once, this appears to be a no-brainer for all three parties and a deal even we won’t mess up. Famous last words, I know, but I reckon all roads point to this being our first signing of the summer and a much needed breakthrough for Bruce.
Mr Ashley might be a stumbling block
John Lunn(Quote)