Saikat Mandal

Thu 21 October 2021 21:47, UK

Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Everton-linked Luis Diaz in the January transfer window, according to reports from Sport TV.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Toffees remain keen on the Porto winger in the upcoming windows.

The 24-year-old Colombian international is being chased by a host of Premier League clubs, and Porto are said to be open to selling him in January.

The Portugal-based sports news channel have shared on their Twitter page that Newcastle are preparing a massive 80 million Euro (£67m) bid to sign Diaz in January.

The Magpies want to establish themselves as the new powerhouse in the Premier League, and certainly, they have money in abundance following the ownership takeover, aided by funds from Saudi Arabia.

Obviously, it would be difficult for them to lure elite players at the moment, but they are more than capable of competing in the market to sign talented rising stars, and Diaz falls into that category.

Everton move unlikely

During the summer transfer window, Porto demanded a fee of £68m for Diaz, and Everton, who operated on a tight budget, had cooled their interest.

Porto are looking to cash in on their talented winger, and it has been claimed that Everton can get him for around £43m, which is still a lot of money.

Diaz has been impressive in 2021-22 so far, and he would be a brilliant signing for the Toffees. With James Rodriguez out of the picture, an attacking midfielder cum winger would be ideal for Rafael Benitez’s side, lest signing a striker is also a priority.

However, if Newcastle come up with a bucket load of money, close to what Porto wanted in the summer, it seems rational they would offload the player to the highest bidder as the club need money to balance their books as well.

In such a hypothetical scenario, Everton are out of the transfer bidding war, before it actually began.

In other Everton news, Adrian Durham has blasted this big-money Blues player and issued a claim over his wages.