In the first half of June, many reports in the Portuguese media claimed Newcastle United were interested in signing SC Braga youngster Roger Fernandes.
It had been said the Magpies could offer as much as €25m for the teenager, following his impressive start with Minhotos’ first team last season.
A Bola is today again talking about Roger’s future, and Newcastle’s chase for him is still taken very seriously.
The outlet features a story which is mostly about Atletico Madrid’s pursuit for the youngster, as the Spanish side could make an offer for his signing ‘in the coming days’.
A Bola then first recalls that Braga already turned down €10m from Borussia Dortmund and €12m from Ajax for Roger. Then they point out that the club now wait for a ‘final offer’ from Newcastle, as the Magpies ‘guaranteed’ they’d outbid those clubs and let the teenager stay in Portugal for one more year. It’s said Eddie Howe’s side see the winger as ‘a player they don’t want to miss out on’.
Atletico Madrid’s main arguments in the negotiations is that they could offer three players in the deal. One of them would arrive on loan, and two would move permanently.
The newspaper, however, points out Newcastle are the club who could ‘answer with numbers’, as the Magpies seem to be more prepared to get closer to the player’s €40m release clause.
That sounds like a stretch. Roger may be highly rated, but he’s still just 16-years-of-age. He doesn’t turn 18 until November 2023, and therefore under current rules he wouldn’t be able to physically move to Newcastle until the January 2024 transfer window.
That would make a big investment, and certainly something around €25m or more, seem quite unlikely. He could move to Atletico Madrid, as that would be a switch within the EU.
