Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce has refused to rule out a January move to sign Tottenham Hotspur outcast Danny Rose.
The 29-year-old has emerged as a potential late window defensive reinforcement for Bruce, after losing Paul Dummett and Jetro Willems to season-ending injuries.
Rose has struggled to establish himself in North London since the arrival of Jose Mourinho last November, with the Portuguese omitting the left-back from six Premier League matchday squads to date.
Rose is prepared to play hard-ball with Tottenham should Spurs look to part ways with the £18million-rated international this month, knowing that he is in a strong position with his £60,000-per-week contract not expiring until 2021.
Bruce is well aware that a move for Rose would be challenging but while he did not wish to discuss the player in-depth, has refused to rule out a potential pursuit ahead of Friday’s Deadline Day.
“It would be wrong for me to sit and talk about other people’s players, [but] he’s a quality player and a class act,” the boss told reporters, via quotes by the Chronicle.
“Whether it’s possible [that we sign Rose], who knows?”
Is Rose our ideal January left-back signing?
Yes
No
Reports earlier in the week suggested Rose’s significant wage in North London could prove to be a stumbling block in any pursuit of the full-back, who has played just 894 minutes of a possible 2,160 in the Premier League this season.
The 29-cap England international has averaged 0.7 interceptions per game over his 12 appearances in the top-flight this term, per data collected by Sofa Score, along with 1.5 tackles, 2.5 clearances, is dribbled past 0.9 times, has committed two errors which led to goals, makes 0.8 successful dribbles, wins 4.5 duels and losses possession 14.2 times.
Bruce is in dire need of a left-back given Dummett and Willems will play no further part in his inaugural season at the St. James’ Park helm, and signing Rose would certainly give the boss an experienced option if the fees involved are suitable for the club’s future vision.
But Newcastle cannot afford to break the bank to land Rose in the January window no matter how great our left-back needs are, as the 29-year-old has proven time and time again in North London that there are better options available by the numerous occasions managers have chosen to look deeper into their squad lists than call on the Leeds United product.
Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was prepared to sell Rose last summer for £20m amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain and FC Schalke 04, and even left the defender out of his pre-season plans as his side travelled to Singapore.
The Argentine’s replacement, Mourinho, has since preferred centre-half Jan Vertonghen at left-back on occasion over Rose, whose errors which led to goals should spark concern at St. James’ Park that his ‘quality’ does not warrant a lofty transfer fee on top of the lucrative wages he will demand.
In other Newcastle United news, a £44k-p/w striker is reportedly prepared to reject a January move to St. James’ Park.