Barcelona ready to sanction €20m defender sale after Newcastle talks

Rafinha, Emerson de Souza

Barcelona are ready to allow Emerson to leave the club in the next transfer window and have reportedly held talks with Newcastle over a potential deal.

The right-back is co-owned by Barca and Real Betis after both paid €6million to sign him from Atletico Mineiro in July 2019 and has spent the 2019/20 season on loan with the latter, making 24 appearances in all competitions.

But the Catalan club have the option to sign him permanently for an additional €6million in the next transfer window, which they are reportedly willing to do in order to sell him permanently for a profit of around €8million.

That is according to a report from Spanish news outlet Sport, cited on Sport Witness, who say that Barca are happy to let him go as they don’t see him as part of their long term plans.

And Newcastle are thought to be interested in doing a deal after holding talks with the La Liga giants about the South American, although no official bid has yet been launched.

The report adds that Emerson is a target for current Magpies boss Steve Bruce, although he could be replaced in the near future with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Rafa Benitez and Max Allegri linked with taking over the St. James’ hot seat if the takeover of the club is completed as expected.

It is therefore unclear whether the Premier League side will continue to pursue a deal with a potential change of management soon to take place.

If they do opt to push on with the transfer, Newcastle would be signing a versatile player capable of playing at both fullback and on the wing, while he has also been compared to Dani Alves due to his tendency to push forward and support attacks.

 

The 21-year-old made his international debut for Brazil in November last year, coming on as a substitute in a 3-0 win over South Korea.

In other news, Newcastle could make an exciting young player from PSG the first signing under their new ownership, according to reports.