Newcastle United could be a bit busy in the coming days as the club scramble to sign a few more players and give Rafa Benitez more squad depth. Reports from Calciomercato reveal that the Magpies are one of the clubs interested in Juventus midfielder Stefano Sturaro.
After strengthening their midfield this summer with the acquisition of Emre Can, Juventus have a few players who they need to get rid of and Sturaro is one of them. Their asking price for Sturaro, according to Calciomercato, is €20 million.
Newcastle haven’t spent a lot of money and though they signed Ki to replace the departed Mikel Merino, they need more bodies in midfield to challenge the top half sides or manage a cup run this season.
Stefano Sturaro – Fact file
The 25-year old moved to Juventus in 2014 but hasn’t been able to consistently make it into the first team. His best season in terms of appearances came during the 2016/17 Serie A campaign when he managed 21 appearances for the Old Lady.
Last season, Sturaro started just seven games and made five substitute appearances. The likes of Sami Khedira, Miralem Pjanic and Claudio Marchisio were ahead of Sturaro in the pecking order, so the Italian found it hard to make regular first-team appearances.
Sturaro – He’ll add a lot more defensive solidity to the team
Newcastle have a few decent midfielders but Sturaro would be an upgrade over each one of them. A defensive minded midfielder, Sturaro is strong with his tackling but he equally confident with the ball at his feet.
The Tyneside outfit tend to use the 4-2-3-1 setup and Sturaro could be the ideal partner with someone like Jonjo Shelvey who can play the box to box role.
Despite Sturaro’s meagre game time last season, he mustered good defensive stats. 1.4 tackles and 1.1 clearances a game might not be all that impressive, but considering Juventus tend to dominate games, their midfielders generally don’t have to put in the tackles like other teams.
Newcastle United will harbour hopes of improving their league position next season and for that, they need depth and quality. At 25, Sturaro still has his best years ahead of him and he’d be a good signing for the Magpies.
The only issue that I see is the transfer fee. Juve’s asking price of €20 million is a tad high for a bench warmer, and if Newcastle can get him for around half that fee, he’d be a shrewd buy.
Stats via Whoscored