Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing a move for La Liga forward Angel Correa as the Mags keep their search for the final piece of the puzzle on. The Atletico Madrid forward has progressed well at Vicente Calderon over the past two years but doesn’t fit well in Diego Simeone’s plans now, with many clubs in his chase.
Newcastle had started the transfer season quite shakily with hardly any player coming their way. This was quite a blow to the cool head, Rafael Benitez, as well who had even gone public to express his concerns with not getting most of his preferred targets. However, the fears have now faded a lot with the Mags getting as many as five players in quick succession.
They have brought in Jacob Murphy from Norwich City, Javier Manquillo from Sunderland and Mikel Merino from Borussia Dortmund in the last two weeks and fans widely expect them to get one more in the closing stages.
Their sharpness in front of the goal still remains a huge doubt as Newcastle can hardly be a threat to the top sides with the likes of Murphy, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandr Mitrovic. They would need someone more experienced and skilful in his movements to create chances and finish off moves, and Correa could be a reliable fit.
The right winger has shown tremendous versatility in the attacking third since joining the Rojo Blancos from Argentina side San Lorenzo back in 2014 for £5m when he was only 19-year-old. Since then he has made 57 La Liga appearances in the past two seasons, though only 18 of them have been starts.
Simeone has mostly seen the quick forward as an impact player and Benitez has similar plans for him too. Having the likes of Christian Atsu and Matt Ritchie on the flanks, who are well established in the league and hold the positions well, Correa could start as second half player whose quick movements would make the difference in tight games.
Correa has managed to score eight goals and provide eight assists last season where he had to make 21 appearances from the bench. One of his qualities, which is quite distinct coming from a South America wide man, is his brilliant defending. The Rosario-born reads the game very well and can time his tackles to perfection.
The Argentine forward had his national debut at the age of 20 back in 2015 and has since been in and out of it. However, he had scored twice in three games in recently concluded World Cup Under 20 Championship, and with the 2018 World Cup qualifying phase going on, is expected to stand out.
