According to The Mail, Newcastle have submitted a bid of around £14.5m for Bayer Leverkusen left-back Mitchel Bakker.
The same outlet reported just yesterday that we’d entered talks over a potential move for the Dutch U21 international, however it seems we have now stepped up our attempt to bring him to St James’ Park.
Interestingly, the piece claims that Bayer Leverkusen could be tempted to cash in on the 21-year-old, recognising the fact they may be able to make a quick £6m profit on Bakker; who arrived from PSG for £8.5m just last summer.
The Mail also report that the player himself is ‘keen’ to complete a move to Newcastle, being tempted by the pull of Premier League football.
It’s said that we’re hoping to make more progress on this deal today, but feel it’s ‘unlikely’ he is signed in time for Saturday’s trip to Leeds, with Friday’s 12pm deadline just over 24 hours away.
Bakker is a tall full-back who stands 6ft 1′ tall, being known for his crossing ability and mixture of pace and power; making him capable at both ends of the pitch and potentially well suited to English football.
He was used regularly by Thomas Tuchel during his time at PSG, often operating at left wing-back until he slipped down the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino.
Interestingly, he came from the same Ajax Academy as fellow Toon target Sven Botman and also plays alongside the Lille star on the international stage, with both key players for Holland’s U21 side.
With Matt Ritchie clearly not a left-back, Paul Dummett never far from a spell out through injury and Jamal Lewis yet to prove himself on Tyneside, a move for Bakker could make sense, giving us another option in an area of the field we’ve often looked weak this season.
