Newcastle United ‘keeper Karl Darlow is being eyed up by Aston Villa for a possible move this January.
With Villa losing Tom Heaton for the entire season with a knee injury, they have now allegedly turned to the North East as they look to source a replacement, according to reports from the Chronicle.
The 29-year-old played for Villa as a youth player between the years of 1999-2006, before moving to Nottingham Forest to continue his development.
Despite Villa having Jed Steer, Orjan Nyland and Lovre Kalinic to pick from in their squad, it seems as if they want to add another ‘keeper to their ranks during this transfer window to prepare themselves as well as they can for the upcoming relegation dogfight.
Considering his contract expires in only six months, then United might feel as if this is the last chance they have of cashing in on him, as the lure of potentially playing first-team football might really make Darlow want to leave St James’ Park.
Obviously, with Martin Dubravka being such a fan favourite and one of the better players in the squad, the only way Darlow is realistically going to get some game time is either in the cups or if the Slovakian goalkeeper gets injured.
Would you sell Karl Darlow to Villa?
If the cash is right
Nope, we can't be helping Villa out at all
Not sure
However, considering Darlow’s contract situation and the fact he is not a first choice, then it’s unlikely that they will get good money for him, which means they might not see the point of selling him to a direct rival.
After three losses on the bounce, the club suddenly looks in the midst of a relegation battle; they are just five points off Bournemouth in 18th and four points of Villa in 17th, so helping out such a direct rival might not be within their interests.
Similarly, they might be able to drive a harder bargain in that sense and maximise the cash they could receive for him.
For Newcastle, he’s a decent backup option, but if the money is right they still have Rob Elliot to call on as a second-choice, so they should be willing to sell if they can make a decent buck.