Newcastle Utd News

Opinion: January move for unfancied international captain makes little sense for Newcastle

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Newcastle fans have got a lot of options in midfield at the moment. The fans absolutely love the likes of Matty and Sean Longstaff, and even past the two academy graduates, they’ve got the likes of Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden who are also able central midfielders.

The Magpies, though, could be set to welcome another midfielder to the club when the January window opens, as it’s been rumoured in The Times that Granit Xhaka could be set to make a move north from London to Newcastle and sign on for Steve Bruce’s Geordies.

Xhaka has been making headlines as of late, but not at all for the right reasons. The Swiss midfield man, and captain of his country, was recently stripped of the Arsenal captaincy after an incident between himself and his own fans when he was subbed in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace (BBC).

Arsenal fans, after having clashed with Xhaka at The Emirates, took a hardline stance and a lot of them were quick to call for his departure and want him out of the club as soon as possible, however, we’re a long way off of the January window, and a lot can happen between now and January 1st.

However, if these links do continue then Newcastle fans will have to have a long hard think about whether or not Xhaka is one for them. Looking at his stats, So far this season he’s averaging less than shots per game than both Shelvey and Sean Longstaff, as well as less interceptions and more fouls per game (WhoScored).

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The money that it could take to prise Xhaka from Arsenal may also be a stumbling block. The Times claim that Xhaka is on a wage of £130,000 per week, a lot more than the club’s current top earner Miguel Almiron who’s on £80,000 per week, making it an extremely strange potential transfer.

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