At least three reports from Brazil claimed that Eddie Howe’s side have made contact for the signing, and could soon make a bid for the youngster.

Even though that story came out of nothing, it makes a lot of sense. And we’re here to explain why Marcos Leonardo is a reasonable target for Newcastle and any other Premier League clubs.

Just like most of Santos’ home-grown talents, the striker made his debut quite early, at the age of 17. That’s why now, despite being just 20, he already has some decent experience and that shows in his game.

Over the past couple of years, Marcos Leonardo has been showing how much of a goalscorer he is. First with 21 goals in 2022, now with another 21 in 2023 so far.

The reason why he isn’t in Europe yet is simply because of Santos’ strategy. He had been heavily linked to AS Roma and Lazio last summer, but since the club had already sold Deivid Washington and Angelo to Chelsea, they couldn’t lose another attacker, even though they had promised him he’d be sold in that window.

That was a tense situation because Marcos Leonardo could well have rebelled against the Brazilian side, but he didn’t. He not only stayed and committed himself, but is also saving them from relegation, because despite how bad the team is doing, currently standing 16th in a league of 20 clubs, he’s the league’s second top goalscorer.

The striker also impressed at the U-20 World Cup this year, with five goals in five appearances, and there he definitely drew interest from many European sides.

What impresses in Marcos Leonardo the most is that he isn’t just a goalscorer. His speed and strength make him a dangerous weapon in counter-attacks, even though his height and age may fool some who won’t think he’s that strong.

There’s obviously a lot to be polished, especially in terms of finishing. But if we’re talking about the big talents in Brazil, he’s definitely one of the most promising players coming through, and Newcastle investing in him could be wise, especially with Santos reportedly demanding less than €25m.

The Magpies seem fine with their attacking options for now, and it would be good for the Brazilian to arrive with time to adapt and develop before he’s urged to deliver.

The post From Brazil: Why Marcos Leonardo could be a good signing for Newcastle United appeared first on Sport Witness.

The player even had pre-season with Mauricio Pochettino’s side, but wasn’t expected to get many chances in his team, and ended up sent to the City Ground for a season-long spell.

It turns out that he hasn’t been playing a lot at Nottingham Forest, and outlet Premier League Brasil features an interesting story on that situation.

Their report claims that Andrey is currently bothered by his situation, even though he’s keeping his head in the right place to deal with the scenario.

It’s said that despite this is being ‘complicated and evidently uncomfortable situation’, he hasn’t been complaining.

According to PL Brasil, Nottingham Forest do see some quality in the Brazilian, but don’t use him because they plan to give more time to players who are at the club under longer contracts, which is not his case.

Andrey reportedly left a good impression in his few minutes against Liverpool, and now waits for a new chance.

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It was claimed that following his season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, Barcelona will be listening to offers for a permanent transfer, including from the Seagulls.

Now it’s time for Estadio Deportivo to share a story on the forward, this time pointing out an alternative destination for him.

The outlet writes that Fati’s entourage ‘would not see with bad eyes’ signing a ‘lucrative contract’ with clubs from Saudi Arabia.

Barcelona are not making any decisions for now, as they’d even consider using him in case he has an impressive season with Brighton.

Now with the player switching between La Liga and the Premier League, it’s interesting that Saudi football come up as a scenario, especially because he’s just 21.

Since joining Brighton, Fati has three goals and ten appearances, and is still fighting for a place in Roberto De Zerbi’s starting team.

Estadio Deportivo make it clear he’s set to have many options next summer, as even if he fails to impress at the Seagulls, there may be some good money waiting for him.

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In our piece, we pointed out that it wasn’t revealed who the Red Devils had been watching, and even mentioned a few names who may have impressed the emissaries.

It turns out that as newspaper A Bola now has a story about that scouting mission, they claim Manchester United’s target was Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

The outlet writes that the Red Devils keep their old interest in the player, and could make a new move for him in the January transfer window.

It’s said the goalkeeping position is one of the ‘more deficient’ at Manchester United, and Costa is the main candidate for that. THe club are set to make new scouting trips to watch the Portuguese star and move for him either in January or next summer, while Porto demand €75m for his transfer.

Well, it’s always interesting when Portuguese reports reveal who the scouts from English clubs had been watching, but in this case, it’s hard to find any sense in what they claim.

Manchester United have just spent over €50m on signing Andre Onana from Inter Milan, and despite the Cameroonian’s mistakes in his first months, his improvement has been clear, as he made many important saves in the derby against Manchester City, not to mention the penalty save against Copenhagen.

Even if Erik ten Hag was thinking of keeping Onana on the bench for a while, the Red Devils signed Altay Bayındır from Fenerbahce this summer.

So spending €75m on a new goalkeeper would be one of the strangest moves Manchester United could make. It’s well known they watch lots of games in the Portuguese league, and Costa may continue to impress there, but definitely not enough for an investment in the January window.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Matheus Cunha is one of those who’ve been called up for the position, but he hasn’t been given a chance to start under Fernando Diniz so far, and is waiting for the opportunity to try to impress the new boss.

The player was now interviewed by Globo Esporte about that situation, and talked about the big competition there is to win such a wanted place in the national team.

“There’s a lot of competition in the national team. There are a lot of quality players fighting for space, and I realise that I have to be at my best to get a place in the squad,” Matheus Cunha told Globo Esporte.

Despite that, Cunha claimed to be confident about his potential to earn the national team’s number nine in the near future.

“I know the qualities I have, what I can bring to the team and to the proposal that Professor Fernando Diniz has for the team.”

The player also claimed that he’ll always play for Wolves thinking of drawing the national team’s attention.

“I’m going to keep working day in, day out and doing my best here with Wolves, because I know I’ll be watched.”

Since Diniz’s arrival, the striker made three appearances, but was only brought in at the end of the games, and didn’t contribute to any goals.

Featuring for Wolves this season, Cunha has two goals and one assist in 11 games, having scored against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.

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With the Giallorossi still planning how to keep the Belgian forward, this was mentioned as a solution they could have to convince the Blues.

As the Italian media now brings a response to this rumour, Calcio Mercato comes up to say this story indeed makes sense.

The outlet writes ‘something could be moving in this direction’ because while Roma want to keep Lukaku, they believe Abraham is an ‘asset that can be sacrificed’.

What remains to be seen is whether Chelsea would like to have the English striker back at Stamford Bridge, although the story does say the Blues re after a centre-forward.

Roma’s valuation of Abraham is said to be of €52m. Since Lukaku has been reported to be worth less, maybe the London club would need to put some money on the table to make that operation possible.

Abraham is recovering from a knee injury and is expected to return in January. Since his departure from Chelsea, he has 36 goals and 12 assists in 107 appearances for the Italian club.

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TNT Sports feature an update on the situation, following reports from Italy saying AC Milan are about to make an offer for him.

The Argentine outlet insists that Manchester City made an approach and came close to placing a bid, but the transfer didn’t happen because the player wanted to feature in the Copa Libertadores.

The latest news from TNT Sports is that Boca Juniors are about to make an offer for a contract renewal. It’s made clear that Barco will ‘hardly stay at the club’, but they want to change his €10m release clause.

There’s a hurry for that new deal to be signed in the coming weeks, so Manchester City should probably get ready for a tougher competition for his signing in the January transfer window.

Boca Juniors will be playing the Copa Libertadores final against Fluminense on Saturday, and it’s very likely his situation will become clearer after the tournament. Either way, that specific issue will now be gone.

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It’s journalist Jorge Nicola who comes up to say it won’t be easy for those clubs to bring the midfielder home.

In a first video, he showed up saying the salary Scarpa receives from Nottingham Forest, or his current club Olympiacos, is an ‘enormous obstacle’ for any deal with Brazilian clubs.

The midfielder earns more than all the biggest stars of those clubs, and that means they’d only go for his signing in case of a loan, with the Tricky Trees covering part of his salary.

It’s also said Scarpa wants to persist a little more in European football before accepting a move back to Brazil.

Then in another video, Nicola talks specially about São Paulo. A source from the club said there’s ‘zero chance’. This person did not rule out they may have made contact for the signing, but made it clear they won’t pay for that type of operation.

Scarpa is loaned to Olympiacos until the end of the season, and has a contract with Nottingham Forest until 2026.

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It was reported by UOL that the Magpies made initial contact for the signing and they now think of the best strategy to bring the 20-year-old to the Premier League.

Newcastle’s interest in Marcos Leonardo is now backed up by outlet Premier League Brasil, who add a few more details to this story.

It’s said the Magpies made contact with Santos to find about the conditions for a deal, and are currently in informal talks, with no bid made yet.

The Brazilian club reportedly told Newcastle how much they want and are waiting for a move from Eddie Howe’s side.

According to PL Brasil, the Magpies have had Marcos Leonardo on their radar since 2021. Now they’re aware there’s an agreement between Santos and the player for him to be sold next year, and should take advantage of that.

UOL had said that Santos want between €20m and €25m to get the sale done, so we shall now wait and see if Newcastle will put those numbers on the table.

The post Newcastle United now in ongoing talks to get signing done – Magpies pursuing exciting transfer appeared first on Sport Witness.

It was said the player could cost just €7m, and that made him an attractive option for the Whites and Hammers.

However, as journalist Jorge Nicola now features a video talking about that chase, he claims that Fulham and West Ham would actually need to pay a little more to get it done.

The reporter says the €7m request never existed. Not even last summer, when São Paulo had already been demanding at least €10m for his departure.

It’s claimed that the Brazilian club will only accept negotiating the midfielder’s sale for at least €15m next year.

The journalist also doesn’t confirm the interest from Fulham and West Ham, even though the player had been linked to the Craven Cottage side in the recent past.

It makes sense that Maia will only leave for €15m. The midfielder had a great year at São Paulo and will definitely be chased by several clubs, especially from English football, so São Paulo have no reason to let him go for so little.

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