Two Portuguese outlets link Newcastle United to the Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder Nemanja Gudelj this Monday. Newspapers Jornal de Notícias and O Jogo both include the Magpies in the list of clubs who want the the 27-year-old.
Starting with Jornal de Notícias, they focus on saying Sporting plan to continue with him at the club, after his loan spell during this season.
Since Gudelj’s contract with Guanghzou expires in December, the Lions’ expectation is that he tries to break his deal with the Chinese side and leave them for free this summer.
Meanwhile, Newcastle, Betis, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are all interested in the signing, but haven’t made offers to the club so far. Sporting would actually have an advantage as the midfielder wants to keep playing for them.
But O Jogo brings a different version of the story. They say Sporting don’t have the conditions to compete with the others.It’s claimed that the same four sides have offered something closer to the €3m net he makes at Guangzhou per season, while Sporting can only pay one third of it.
The English and the Spanish leagues are also said to be more attractive for the player, and that’s why the Lions believe they should go for new targets from now on.
Now with Rafa Benitez’s departure from Newcastle announce today, perhaps it will take a little longer until the Magpies check if Gudelj would be part of their next manager’s plans.
