According to reports in The Sun on August 7, Bournemouth have had a bid of £18m for Napoli midfielder Jorginho rejected by the Italian giants.
The Sun said that Cherries boss Eddie Howe is still keen to strengthen his team despite bringing the likes of Asmir Begovic, Nathan Ake and Jermain Defoe to the club this summer, but they will have to submit a larger offer to try and convince the Serie A outfit to sell.
The report adds that Napoli are keen to keep hold of the Italy international, who has become a key player for the team over the course of the last three seasons, and it remains to be seen whether they would be tempted to offload the 25-year-old before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez still wants to bring in more new players in order to ensure the Magpies avoid a relegation battle in the upcoming Premier League season, and he may feel the midfielder, valued at £19.8m by transfermarkt.com, can add some quality to the squad.
Here are three reasons Newcastle should hijack Bournemouth’s bid to sign Jorginho…
Attributes
The 25-year-old has played in a variety of midfield roles – attacking, central and defensive – during his career, but it is in the latter that he has often been used for Napoli.
The Italy international has shown how effective he can be from a defensive point of view by making 52 interceptions and 17 clearances in 27 Serie A appearances last term, but he has also shown that he can be a playmaker from a deep-lying position.
With a passing accuracy of 91% and having created 38 chances and picking up three assists, Jorginho could prove to be an influential addition to this Newcastle team.
Rafa Benitez
Magpies manager Benitez was actually Napoli boss when the Serie A outfit signed Jorginho from Hellas Verona in 2014, and as a result the Spaniard should know all about the strengths and weaknesses that the 25-year-old has.
If Newcastle did manage to bring the Italy international to St James’ Park before the transfer window shuts then he would certainly have an advantage by already knowing Benitez, which should allow him to settle into life in the Premier League perhaps more quickly than he would have done otherwise.
Price tag
Being a newly-promoted club, Newcastle probably don’t have the money to go and spend £30-40m on a new signing.
The fact that The Sun say Bournemouth have already had an £18m bid rejected for the 25-year-old suggests that the Cherries believe that they could get him for that price, and that will give the likes of the Magpies hope that they could perhaps get him for around the £20m mark.
To sign an Italy international, who has become a key player for one of the best teams in Serie A, for that price would certainly be something of a coup in a summer where transfer fees have been heavily inflated.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.
