Newcastle United favourite Lee Clarke has said that the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Wilfried Zaha are realistic targets for the Magpies in the next transfer window. The Tyneside outfit are currently on the verge of a takeover from a Saudi-based consortium and that is expected to witness a change in the transfer policy at the club.
The prospective new owners are said to have the plan to take the club right to the top and a number of high-profile players have already been linked with moves to St James’ Park. Among those, Coutinho and Zaha have been regularly mentioned in the media and Clark believes the duo are realistic targets when compared to the Kylian Mbappe.
He told: “Philippe Coutinho and Wilfried Zaha are realistic signings for me. I know the Kylian Mbappe and that have been mentioned and you don’t know whether that has just been humour.I think those type of players are out of Newcastle United’s reach at this moment in time. Now further down the line, if the club gets moving into Champions League places and it is challenging domestically, then they could eventually be realistic targets. In this moment in time, theMbappe’s of this world are not.”
Coutinho is currently out on loan at Bayern Munich from Barcelona but he is expected to return to the Camp Nou at the end of the season. The Brazilian has been touted to make a return to the Premier League and the Magpies could be interested in signing him, particularly with suggestions that the Blaugrana are prepared to accept loan offers of around £10m.
Meanwhile, Zaha is presently contracted to Crystal Palace. The Ivorian has been linked with big-money moves to Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in recent years but none of them have meet Palace’s £80m price tag. His valuation could reduce with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and he could be an ideal summer signing for the Magpies due to his vast experience of playing in the Premier League.