Newcastle United could be set to seal a deal for a player who Sunderland reportedly missed out on.
In the January transfer window, the Portuguese press were insistent that Andreas Samaris was close to a Sunderland transfer. Notícias Ao Minuto said Sunderland club secretary Brett Baker had told them “the agreement is closed”.
The €20m deal was said to be dependent on David Moyes’ standing at the club, and the result against West Brom. Sunderland lost, the Samaris deal subsequently didn’t happen.
In March it was reported that Sunderland had an ‘agreement in principle’ to sign Samaris this summer for €20m, so long as they stayed in the Premier League.
Moyes hung on, Sunderland were relegated, and the manager eventually left in May. Newcastle United, on the other hand, enjoyed promotion to the Premier League, and it’s now them linked with Samaris.
Portuguese newspaper O Jogo reports on Saturday that Newcastle United have offered €15m, but Benfica want €20m. A little more may be needed to convince Benfica, but there’s certainly some kind of appetite to sell.
Newcastle United upped their Portuguese scouting last season under Rafael Benitez, and Samaris is the second player they’ve been strongly linked to, after Ruben Semedo.
There’s no mention of Sunderland from O Jogo, and the Championship club are now out of the picture.
