NUFC agree shock 'loan with option to buy' - £10m deal now dead?
According to the Shields Gazette's Miles Starforth, a medical has already been booked in for Jetro Willems, with personal terms agreed and a 'loan with an option to buy' in place for the Frankfurt full-back.
It seems we are now close to sealing a surprise deal for the Dutchman and, as a result, you would think a proposed move for fellow left-back Stanley N’Soki is now almost certainly off.
It was confirmed over the weekend that we'd agreed a fee in the region of £10m for the PSG left-back, with the Chronicle also reporting that he was keen to join, however doubts had emerged regarding contract talks.
It wast then reported yesterday (again by the Chronicle) that we’d been told to make a decision on the PSG full-back after he sent his salary demands to the club, but today's sudden news suggests we’ve now opted for Willems instead?
Although we had agreed a fee of around £10m for N'Soki, it was reported back in May that Willems was available for around £5-£6m this summer - so Mike Ashley and co. may be seeing this as a potential bargain, with him still only 25.
If this is the case and we've sacked of N'Soki to sign Willems instead, fair play to us for actually moving onto a new target quickly - something we've rarely done well in the past.
He's had a difficult time of it out in Germany, struggling to nail down a regular place in Frankfurt's side, however he could well be suited to the left wing-back role at Newcastle.
His defensive work has been criticised during his spell in the Bundesliga, but the Dutchman was an assist-king at PSV, with him being a good dribbler with decent skill and a dangerous left-foot.
