Following last season’s seventh placed finish in the Premier League, Newcastle United are set to bring in defensive reinforcements in order to aid their quest to break back into the top four next year.
Newcastle use summer to bolster defence
Owing primarily to a slew of unfortunate injuries, Newcastle struggled to settle on a nailed on back four for much of last season. In order to avoid this issue going into the next campaign, the Magpies have looked towards a number of defensive players.
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One player already making the move to St James’ Park is Lloyd Kelly. The defender is set to formally join Newcastle on the 1st July after becoming a free agent upon the expiration of his contract at Bournemouth.
In addition to Kelly, the Magpies have been linked to a host of new defenders. Recent reports suggest that Newcastle have made a player-plus-cash offer for Wolves centre-back Max Kilman. The Tyneside outfit reportedly offered Elliot Anderson and cash for the English defender, however Wolves turned this bid down.
A new name between the sticks is also a target in the Toon’s mission to sure up their defence. Burnley shot stopper James Trafford has been Newcastle’s long term target in this area but both Aaron Ramsdale and Juan Musso have emerged as other names that PIF are looking at.
With deals for these targets yet to be agreed, Newcastle are now expected to step up their pursuit of a well-regarded European centre back.
Toon target move for Juventus defender
As first reported by Sport Witness, the Italian press are claiming that Newcastle could shortly formalise an offer for Juventus’ Federico Gatti.
The Serie A giants are supposedly not interested in selling the Italian centre back, however the report states that they could be won over by a bid in excess of £25million owing to Juventus’ ongoing financial problems.
Gatti featured 32 times for Juventus as his side clinched Champions League football by finishing third in Serie A. The central defender also managed to get on the scoresheet on four occasions during the campaign, an impressive feat for a player in his position.
Based on his stats from last season, Gatti is everything that you would want in a modern defender. The 26-year-old ranks highly for his progressive output as well as his previously mentioned goal-scoring prowess.
|
Total per 90 |
Ranks vs centre backs in comparable leagues |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Non-penalty goals |
0.14 |
95th percentile |
|
Shots total |
1.19 |
99th percentile |
|
Progressive carries |
1.17 |
98th percentile |
|
Progressive passes received |
1.47 |
97th percentile |
|
Touches |
1.60 |
92nd percentile |
For any of the Toon faithful fearful about Gatti’s defensive abilities, the 26-year-old has also earned plaudits for his more old school assets. Speaking back when he joined the Turin outfit in 2022, former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri branded Gatti as “the strongest defender in Serie B and he has everything to do well at Juve”.
If Newcastle are to get a deal for Gatti over the line, they would be getting a modern centre back that rarely shies away from doing the dirty work associated with his position.
