Newcastle United appear to have missed out on the signing of Mio Backhaus, as he’s heading to beaten Europa League finalists Freiburg.
BILD report that Freiburg have dropped a ‘transfer bombshell’ with the impending signing of the 22-year-old.
Backhaus deal sorted
The newspaper explains that while current Noah Atubolu was in Istanbul taking on Aston Villa in the Europa League final, which was likely to be his last match for the club, they were busy signing his successor.
According to BILD’s information, the deal for Mio Backhaus is ‘virtually finalised’. Freiburg should announce it in the coming days. The German side will pay €15m for the U21 international.
That will include €3m in performance-related add-ons. It will represent a transfer record for both them and Werder Bremen.
Freiburg have stepped ahead of the competition to get the deal over the line. Newcastle United and Brighton has been pursuing Backhaus. There was also interest from Serie A.
Sport Witness covered a report this week stating that Backhaus’ future would be sorted within 14 days. At that point, Newcastle looked to be a likely destination.
Instead, the deal has gone to Freiburg. The fact that they can offer European football, despite defeat to Aston Villa, was likely a major contributing factor.
Goalkeeper merry-go-round
He will be part of a merry go round of goalkeepers in the Bundesliga. His move to Freiburg opens the door for Werder Bremen to sign Karl Hein on a permanent basis from Arsenal. Current Freiburg number one Noah Atubolu will also move on.
Reports have linked him with Tottenham in recent months. BILD report that he is expected to bring in just over €20m for the German club. That money will, presumably, be used to pay for Mio Backhaus’ €15m transfer.
Either way, Newcastle appear to have missed out on this occasion as they look to improve their goalkeeper options this summer.
