Newcastle midfield target now joining fellow CL side for £5.6m

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Newcastle United were linked with Germany international Kerem Demirbay earlier this year.

In April, Sky Sport Germany reported that the Magpies were closely looking at the 30-year-old midfielder.

Newcastle have a huge season ahead of them, with Champions League football on the cards.

With that in mind, the Magpies could do with increasing their strength in depth as they look to fight on four fronts.

Meanwhile, Demirbay’s Bayer Leverkusen contract runs until 2024, so the club pretty much had to cash in this summer.

However, Newcastle didn’t firm up their interest on Demirbay. Now, it looks like they’ve missed their chance.

Sky journalist Florian Plettenberg has reported that the player is Galatasaray-bound, with a medical on the cards.

He will apparently join for just €6.5million (around £5.6million) on a contract “probably until 2026”.

Our view

Admittedly, Newcastle have already brought in a top-quality midfielder in Sandro Tonali.

Harvey Barnes, another Magpies summer signing, is also capable of playing in midfield.

Perhaps Newcastle felt there was no need to bring in Demirbay.

That said, he could’ve been a solid, experienced and inexpensive option for the Magpies and boss Eddie Howe for the coming season.

Demirbay has made 40 appearances in European competition over the years, including 15 outings in the Champions League.

Depending on how Gala fare in their Champions League qualifiers, they could well come up against Newcastle this year.

Let’s hope that Newcastle don’t regret making a push for the two-cap Germany international if the two teams lock horns.