Newcastle want to sign 21-year-old in January, £15.8m could seal the deal

Newcastle United will be looking for the right deals during the next month to keep their unlikely push for European football going.

Going to league leaders Arsenal and coming away with a point and a clean sheet just shows how good they’ve been this season.

The Athletic have reported this month that Newcastle are keen to bring in a number six.

A number of midfielders have been linked in recent times, and plenty of players are likely to be keen on a move to the high-flying Magpies.

Leicester City pair Youri Tielemans and James Maddison are both of interest, although Maddison doesn’t really fit that bill.

Jonjo Shelvey’s ongoing fitness issues have made the need for a deep lying midfielder more urgent.

Marca now believe that Newcastle want to sign Boca Juniors midfielder Alan Varela.

The 21-year-old has plenty of potential, and could be the long-term solution to Eddie Howe’s midfield conundrum.

Newcastle want to sign Varela

The Spanish media publication suggest that although there’s been no formal bid for Newcastle, they’re certainly interested.

Varela has a €20m [£17.6m] release clause, but Newcastle may be able to complete a deal for £15.8m.

Newcastle would like to get the deal done this month, before loaning Varela back to Boca Juniors for the rest of the season.

Varela is a former Argentinian under-20 international, and was tasked with stepping up into Alexis Mac Allister’s shoes when he joined Brighton.

Comfortable in possession, Varela is more of a deep lying playmaker than a combative number six.

He’s not the tallest player, but has a brilliant upper-body strength that helps him in duels.

Newcastle don’t tend to play with a tough-tackling midfielder, and so it makes sense why they want to sign Varela.

He would comfortably fit into their system, although he would need time to adapt to the step up to Premier League football.

Varela could be another sensible, young Newcastle signing during the Eddie Howe reign.