da casino： According to the International Business Times, Newcastle United are monitoring Villarreal winger Alfonso Pedraza, who is currently out on loan with fellow La Liga side Alaves.
da bwin： The IB Times says that the 21-year-old has garnered a reputation as one of the most promising players to graduate from the prolific Villarreal academy in recent years, and he even spent time on loan with Championship side Leeds United last season.
The report says that Magpies’ Premier League rivals Southampton are also keen on the wide man, with scouts from both clubs watching the Spain Under-21 international in action in La Liga.
It is hardly surprising that the Tyneside outfit are watching the Spaniard given Rafa Benitez is their manager and the fact that they have the likes of Mikel Merino, Ayoze Perez, Javier Manquillo and Joselu in their squad, but it may not be a smart decision to add the forward to their ever-growing Spanish contingent.
Here are three reasons Newcastle should steer clear of signing Pedraza…
Alaves performances
Having so far failed to cement his place in the first-team picture with Villarreal, Pedraza would have been keen to show what he can do in La Liga following a successful spell with La Liga 2 outfit CD Lugo in the first-half of the 2016/17 campaign, but it just hasn’t happened for him at Alaves yet.
The team are bottom of the standings having lost eight of their opening nine Spanish top flight fixtures, and even though the 21-year-old has featured in all of those games he has just one assist to show for it.
The jury is well and truly still out on the Spaniard in that respect, and Newcastle should steer clear of signing him until he at least proves he can perform consistently at that level.
Spell with Leeds
While his time with Alaves has been largely disappointing, his spell with Leeds United in the Championship last term was probably even worse.
The Yorkshire outfit signed the winger during the January transfer window with a view to a permanent £8.5m move at the end of the campaign if the Whites won promotion to the Premier League, but of course that never happened as they missed out on the play-off positions.
Garry Monk would have been hoping that the wide man could have helped them cement a top-six spot, but having provided just one assist in 14 league appearances – with half of those outings coming when the 21-year-old was named in the starting line-up – Leeds were probably glad they didn’t have to keep the Spaniard at the end of the season.
They have Jacob Murphy
If Newcastle are looking for a new young winger, perhaps they would be better off giving more of an opportunity to one they already have on their books.
The Magpies signed Murphy from Norwich City during the summer transfer window but he has struggled to break past Matt Ritchie and Christian Atsu to get into the team, featuring for just 79 minutes across four Premier League appearances so far this season.
While that will be disappointing for the 22-year-old, he showed with his prolific campaign in the Championship with the Canaries last term and with the England Under-21s during the summer that he has the ability to make a difference on the pitch, and Rafa Benitez should blood him more instead of investing in another player who isn’t the finished article either.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.