A bit of Slade in the headline, why not? And that, my friends, is about as festive as I get!
The name Andrey Santos is one that keeps popping up when it comes to Newcastle United with a January move for the Brazilian wonderkid highly speculated.
Keith Downie recently spoke to GIVEMESPORT and he highlighted Newcastle’s interest in the youngster, saying: “I think he’s one of a number of younger players they’re looking to bring in, to try and get around the FFP rules.
“We saw them bring in the guy from Australia, Garang Kuol, 18 years old, and I think this is another player on that kind of wish list.”
There’s a fee of between £20-£25m being quoted for the 18-year-old, which is by no means a snip, but if he’s half as good as is being reported, it could turn out to be a bargain in the long run.
Santos is being tracked by several clubs, but Newcastle have been linked with the player since the summer and it looks like they might be about to make their move. As Keith Downie says, we’ve already made the move to bring in Garang Kuol as we look to add future stars to our ranks.
Playing as a holding midfielder, Santos covers a position that Newcastle could do with strengthening straight away, but it’s unlikely that Santos would be brought in to jump straight into the first team despite his impressive showings for Vasco da Gama.
Of course with Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, Santos wouldn’t feel so out of water at Newcastle as he’d have a couple of Brazilian counterparts to help him settle.
This is a transfer that has had me excited since it was first mooted and the likelihood of it happening has only increased as time’s gone on, so I hope this one comes off.