Douglas discussions underway?

Dutch media outlet Voetbal International claims that discussions between Newcastle United and FC Twente are taking place over the transfer of Brazilian born defender Douglas Franco Teixeira.

Newcastle need to bolster their defence and have been monitoring the 24-year-old for a number of months, with the added bonus being that Douglas is out of contract in the summer.

However this won't be a free transfer as FC Twente have a one way agreement to extend the contract of the player for another year, so you would have to assume that they will do just that to ensure they make some money on the tough tackling defender, who has been compared in terms of style and stature to Chris Samba, formerly of Blackburn Rovers. A fee of around €5 million will be enough for Steve McLaren to agree to a deal.

Douglas is now a Dutch citizen and is free to represent Holland at international level, although as yet he hasn't made an appearance for the national side. He is said to be keen on moving to England, and with Newcastle seemingly keen to sign him up perhaps he could get his wish this summer?

He'd be a good signing for us in my opinion. He has a temper on him, as you can see here. He got a six match suspension for this. However he is a good defender, strong, physical and seems made for the Premier League with his 6ft 4in frame and impressive heading ability.

Would you be happy with Douglas?