'Small team' - Brazilian star advised against Newcastle United move

Newcastle United have been brandished as a 'small club' after they reportedly showed an interest in signing Brazil Under-23 star Marcos Leonardo.

The Magpies are keen to add to their attacking ranks during the January transfer window and ease the burden placed upon Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson as Eddie Howe's side challenge for honours on a number of fronts during the second half of the season.

Santos star Leonardo is said to be one potential signing under consideration within the St James Park hierarchy and there were reports earlier in the season suggesting the Magpies had already made 'first contacts' over a potential deal.

The Brazilian giants are believed to have placed an asking price of around £22m for the 20-year-old forward, who has scored 54 goals and provided 11 assists in 167 appearances in all competitions since breaking into the senior setup at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium just over three years ago.

However, Santos are also said to be keen to retain Leonardo's services before selling him on to a European club for an inflated fee in the future. The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan are also said to be keen on the youngster - but Santos presidential candidate Ricardo Agostinho has claimed Newcastle are not big enough for Leonardo.

He told Diario do Litoral: “Our stance is, either he makes an agreement with us for this contract model with these triggers or he actually goes to a top team in Europe. And it doesn’t make sense, for him to play in a small team with all due respect, to play in Newcastle or anything like that. 

“We need to have a focused athlete, who needs to understand that Santos is the pinnacle of his career in teams as big as they are, but that he will not play on a bigger team. So why is he going to play for Almeria? Why is he going to play for Braga?”

“He has to play there in the same teams, at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, the same teams as Santos. Otherwise, it’s not good for him and financially it won’t be that different because we have plans that if he makes an effort, if he dedicates himself, he will earn a lot of money, it will help the club a lot.”