Scout ‘doesn’t agree’ with transfer decision Newcastle United have just made

Newcastle United are expected to return to the market in January and the central defensive area is believed to be high on their priority list. The Magpies strengthened their team with the high profile signings of Sandro Tonali, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Harvey Barnes in the summer, but opted against signing a central defender.

This came to the surprise of many fans and pundits including Shay Given who signalled it as an area he would have strengthened. Newcastle have started the season with Fabian Schar and Sven Botman as their first choice centre backs, while left back Dan Burn and captain Jamaal Lascelles have filled in at times due to injuries.

However, this appears to be a cause for concern for Newcastle if they are to retain their place in the Champions League and compete on all fronts this season. Throughout the summer months one transfer rumour which never materialised was that of Portuguese star Gonçalo Inácio.

Inancio is a 6ft1 centre back who broke into the Sporting CP team in 2020 and he is tipped to have a bright future at international level. He has been on Newcastle’s radar since the PIF takeover and was reportedly a player of interest to the Magpies before the arrival of Sven Botman, according to reports from Sport Witness. Inancio has already been a part of a league winning side with Sporting and has won two Portuguese Cups as a first team starter. He has won three caps for Portugal and scored two goals.

However, recent reports claim that Newcastle scouts have distanced themselves from the player and the club no longer see him as a viable option. Portuguese outlet Radio Renascença explained that Newcastle’s staff see no evolution in the player, and ‘refuse to go crazy’ to take him from Sporting.

Even though the Magpies have watched Inácio for years, they first chose to go for Lille’s Sven Botman instead, and now see the Portuguese as too expensive to be the Dutchman’s backup option. Radio Renascença learned that people at Newcastle believe the Sporting defender hasn’t shown a big evolution in the past couple of seasons, especially due to the lack of a ‘competitive context’.

However, these claims were later rebuffed by the defender’s former coach Leonel Pontes, who said: ”I don’t agree. Gonçalo Inácio was in the Under-23s three seasons ago and has been almost an undisputed starter for the last two years and already has a national team career. He has progressively developed in the various aspects that are part of a player’s growth. Whoever made that analysis didn’t evaluate what Gonçalo Inácio was and what he is now.”

Inancio has played eight times this season for a Sporting team who currently sit top of the league. He has also been called up to Roberto Martinez’s most recent national team squad where Portugal face Slovakia and Bosnia & Herzegovina.