Newcastle United will need €35m if they wish to sign Ansu Fati from Barcelona this summer, having been named among his potential suitors.
That’s according to Sport, who say that is the figure Jorge Mendes has been proposing as he lines up a departure from the Nou Camp.
Earlier today we covered a report which stated that Newcastle were in the picture for Fati, and had been offered a potential deal for a player who is growing increasingly tired of his situation at Barcelona and may be on the move come the summer.
Mendes, who acts as one of his agents, is actively facilitating that happening and exploring the market and it was explained that Newcastle were one of the clubs who had listened to what he had to say.
The nature of those conversations was not made clear, nor was the proposal the Portuguese agent was putting forward, but Sport shed some light on the situation in their latest report.
They say Mendes and co have been ‘probing the market’ for suitors for Fati and have made it clear that a ‘fair transfer’ would be valued at around €35m.
That’s the figure at which Fati is current valued, including by transfer website Transfermarkt, with his ostracism from the Barcelona team ‘devaluing’ him.
That lack of minutes has not gone unnoticed and has generated doubts in the market, leading to his price falling and his environment accepting that a ‘stratospheric sale’ is no longer possible.
That will only worsen if he remains at Barcelona but continues not to play, although at the moment they are only willing to sanction a sale if Fati expresses his desire to leave and a club offers much more than the €35m being proposed by his agents. Neither of those have occurred yet.
They and Mendes know that there are clubs in England interested in him, though, as long as ‘realistic economic conditions’ are put in place for a transfer to happen.
Whether Newcastle are one of those willing to bid isn’t made clear but they have been speaking to Mendes and €35m would fit into their parameters, which are being limited by FFP like everyone else.
It means they are one to keep an eye on if a race for Fati’s signature should develop, particularly if Eddie Howe’s side manage to secure Champions League football for next season.
