Steve Bruce is taking a serious look at Rio Ave defender Toni Borevkovic, according to reports in Portugal.
With injuries aplenty at St James’ Park – 13, to be precise, according to Premier Injuries – the Newcastle boss is now wanting to add more depth before the window slams shut.
A Bola have stated that the 22-year-old is wanted by a list of English clubs, which also includes Championship side Blackburn Rovers as well as Premier League rivals Bournemouth.
Despite this, the Portuguese paper claims that manager Carlos Carvahal is wanting the 6’4 defender to at least stay until the end of the campaign.
Currently, centre backs Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett are out injured, and with Toon playing five at the back all season, some extra options could be wanted for the second half of the season.
It’s not only English teams who are wanting the young Croatian, with LancsLive also reporting that a host of German teams are sniffing around in Borussia Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg and Augsburg all reportedly keen.
Should the club pursue Toni Borevkovic?
Yes
No
The same report states that he is contracted until the summer of 2023, but it is thought that the Portuguese club will not be asking for a large fee for him to leave.
Borevkovic came through the Dinamo Zagreb youth set up, however, he failed to break into the Croatian giant’s first team, before joining NK Rudes on loan, helping them get into the first-tier of the league – the Prva Liga. After that season, he joined them full-time after still not being able to get a look-in for Dinamo, where he had another successful season, helping them stay in the top division.
Following that, reports a move were then rife. Alaves looked to have secured his signing at one stage, however, he ended up moving to Rio Ave in the Portuguese top-tier for a small fee.
So far this season, he has featured in 16 league games, averaging 1.4 aerials won per game, 1.3 interceptions won per game, as well as 3.3 clearances won per match (all per WhoScored), helping Carvahal’s side reach seventh in the division – just four points off Sporting Lisbon in fourth.
With the risk being low with this deal, there doesn’t seem like much reason why Newcastle shouldn’t pursue it. He should be available for a cheap price, and he also seems to have a physique to suit the Premier League as well as the club’s deep line and five-man defence.