According to reports in the Daily Star on December 16, Swansea City are ready to reignite their interest in West Bromwich Albion attacker Nacer Chadli during the January transfer window.
The Daily Star says Swans manager Paul Clement tried to sign the 28-year-old in the summer but failed with a £15m move, with former Baggies boss Tony Pulis unwilling to let him leave without finding a suitable replacement first.
The former Tottenham Hotspur star, who can play on either flank or as a central attacking midfielder, found first-team minutes hard to come by this season before suffering a muscle injury in November, and the report adds that new manager Alan Pardew could cash in on him in the New Year after being told he must sell before he can buy.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United’s freefall down the Premier League table continued on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and their run of taking just one point from the last 27 available has seen them drop down to 18th position in the standings.
Rafa Benitez will already be thinking about possible additions he could make to his struggling squad in January, and bringing the potentially reasonably-priced Chadli – valued at £13.5m by transfermarkt.com – to St. James’ Park could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Newcastle should hijack Swansea’s bid to sign the Belgium international…
They need new attacking players
Newcastle have scored just 16 goals in their 18 Premier League matches so far this season, and if that record continues into the second-half of the campaign they will be in serious trouble of being relegated – they only need to look at the fate of goal-shy local rivals Middlesbrough last term.
The Magpies are in desperate need of adding some quality and added competition for the likes of Matt Ritchie, Ayoze Perez, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy, and Chadli could be the ideal candidate given he can play anywhere in the trio behind the striker in Benitez’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
Premier League experience
One of the things that Newcastle really seem to be lacking in their team and squad right now is that Premier League experience and know-how of what to do in the situation they currently find themselves in, and there is no doubt that Chadli could prove to be an influential figure in the dressing room.
Across his time with Tottenham and West Brom he has made 121 top flight appearances, and the fact that he also has 42 caps for a highly competitive Belgium national side only further highlights the big-game experiences he has had in his career, which could prove to be priceless for the Magpies.
His qualities
While he has only made two Premier League appearances for West Brom this season, Chadli has shown during his career in England what a big impact he is able to make.
The 28-year-old scored a brilliant free-kick against Leicester in one of those two outings this term, while he netted five goals and provided a further five assists for the Baggies last term, creating 32 chances.
In total, Chadli has found the net 21 times and registered 15 assists in 121 Premier League appearances, and Newcastle could certainly do with that goal threat and general quality in the final third right now.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.