Last week, Sky Sports claimed that Newcastle United were about to launch a formal offer for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos.
A few days later, Portuguese outlet O Jogo have now released some intriguing claims on the 21-year-old forward – pointing towards some mixed news for fans hoping for a breakthrough.
They claim that we are prepared to ‘go close’ to Benfica’s £34m asking price, but insist that the Portuguese giants won’t let him leave until he’s played both legs of a Champions League play-off decider against Dynamo Kyiv.
The first match is in Kiev on Wednesday night and return leg next Tuesday (23rd August), meaning we’d have to wait at least another week if we wanted to bring Ramos to St James’ Park.
It’s easy to see why Benfica want to have him for two massive games – especially when he’s been involved in 42% of their goals so far this season – but I doubt these demands will appeal to a Newcastle United side crying out for new attacking options after a toothless display on Saturday.
Ramos has bagged an outstanding four goals and three assists in four appearances this season, scoring a hat-trick in their opening Champions League qualifier against FC Midtjylland.
It may be worth the wait if he really is our top new target – something Fabrizio Romano claimed last week – however this potential delay might just give us the chance to explore other options, with Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad) and Armando Broja (Chelsea) linked again over the past few days.
After all, who’s to say Ramos won’t get injured between now and August 23rd, or Benfica up their asking price should they suddenly secure Champions League football?
