Newcastle United
Premier League • England
Newcastle confident of snatching Serie A forward despite Tottenham interest and Crystal Palace bid
Newcastle United are reportedly growing in confidence that they can win the race for Juventus starlet Matias Soule, who is also wanted by Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Soule is a 20-year-old right winger who can also operate as a central attacking midfielder. He spent time at Argentinian club Velez before Juve snapped him up in January 2020 and added him to their academy.
Soule, who represents Argentina U20s at international level, rose through the ranks with the Bianconeri before making his first-team debut in November 2021, having impressed for Juve’s U23 team.
The wide man spent the majority of last season with Juve’s senior squad, and he picked up vital experience by making 19 appearances across all competitions. He netted one goal too, scoring in a 4-2 Serie A victory over Sampdoria at home.
In the summer, Juve boss Max Allegri decided it would be better for Soule to head out on loan to play more regularly and continue his exciting development. This sparked a season-long switch to Frosinone, and the youngster is thriving at his temporary club.
He has registered six goals and one assist in 15 games, which includes a brace as Frosinone lost 4-3 to Cagliari in late October.
Soule’s impressive performances have prompted teams from across Europe to sit up and take notice of his rise to the top. And there is a good chance the youngster will be playing in England next year.
Last week, it emerged that Tottenham are planning a double January raid on Juve for Soule and fellow winger Samuel Iling-Junior. Spurs have had success when signing players from the Italian giants before, with Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur both making significant impacts in North London – when the latter is not injured.
Newcastle pushing to land Tottenham, Palace target
But Spurs are not alone in chasing Soule. Indeed, Newcastle are huge admirers of him, and they may strike a deal as part of their aim to sign some of the best young talent in the world. Plus, on Wednesday it was suggested that Palace could surprisingly win the race for Soule by launching a ‘super offer’ in January.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) have now provided an update on the situation. They state that Newcastle are emerging as frontrunners to agree a deal with Juve.
This is because Juve are ‘increasingly inclined’ to sell the South American ace to them, something Newcastle are well aware of.
Of course, Frosinone will not want to lose their exciting loanee midway through the campaign, so Juve and Newcastle could strike a deal that sees him remain where he is until the end of the season before moving to St James’ Park next summer.
Juve have set Soule’s price tag at the €25million (£21.5m) mark. This is a significant amount of money for someone of Soule’s age, though his great performances in Italy’s top flight suggest he could well be worth it.
It is well known that Newcastle are operating close to their limit when it comes to Financial Fair Play, which is why they are having to rely on loan signings to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad in January. As such, Newcastle will either have to be very clever with their finances when landing Soule on a permanent deal next month, or they might opt to wait until the summer and hope that he does not join Spurs or Palace first.