Newcastle United Opinion: Magpies should look at Mehdi Zerkane as a long-term investment
According to reports from GFFN, Newcastle United are interested in signing 19-year-old AS Monaco winger Mehdi Zerkane on a free transfer this summer.
The same source claims that the teenager is out of contract at Monaco in the summer and the French outfit are unlikely to offer him a new deal to keep him at the club.
Zerkane is yet to make his debut for Monaco’s first-team but he has caught the eye with a string of impressive performances at the youth and reserve level and has been a regular for the club’s U19 side.
The 19-year-old has featured regularly in the UEFA Youth League this season, scoring twice and assisting once from 6 starts in the competition.
The left-footed jet-heeled winger has been tipped to make it to Monaco’s first team in the foreseeable future but it looks as if he is not going to get that chance, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Essentially a right-winger by trade due to his left-footed nature, Zerkane has also showcased the versatility to play out wide on the left and through the centre as a supporting striker.
To put things into perspective, not much is really known about the player, who is yet to play at the highest level, but Newcastle should not hesitate to snap him up on a free transfer this summer.
The Magpies will need to bolster their ranks in the summer transfer window, and although the 19-year-old doesn’t fit the bill currently at Tyneside, they should look at this move as a smart piece of business in a bid to add more competition in their youth ranks.
The move, if it materializes, would not make much difference to Newcastle’s first team, as one would hardly expect Mehdi Zerkane to play a key role for the Magpies in the Premier League next season. He is yet to get a taste of senior football, so in all probability, he would be going into Newcastle’s youth side.
Zerkane has shown glimpses of his potential in the youth ranks at Monaco, and given that the French outfit have a world-class academy, it won’t be a bad idea for Newcastle to bring in a talented youngster from their youth set-up without spending a single penny.
Sean Longstaff has been the latest youngster from Newcastle’s youth academy to successfully make the step up to the Premier League and there is every possibility that Zerkane might make a name for himself at the highest level if he manages to impress in the youth ranks.
He is hardly the finished article just yet but honing his skills in English football should do a world of good for his future in the game.
It is highly unlikely, though, that Zerkane would be the only new arrival at St. James’ Park this summer, with Rafael Benitez making it clear that he would only sign a new deal and stay at the club if owner Mike Ashley backs him with the necessary funds to bolster his squad (h/t Sun).
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Newcastle should look at the 19-year-old as a long-term investment but Benitez would still need plenty of cash to strengthen other areas of his squad, as he looks to get the Magpies back into the upper echelons of the Premier League after consecutive mid-table finishes.
