Report: Newcastle United join hunt for £18 million Guillermo Maripan

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Newcastle United are reportedly keeping close tabs on Chilean defender Guillermo Maripan, according to reports in the player’s homeland.

CDF are claiming that previous interest from fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur has now died down and that the Magpies are ready to make their own swoop.

The report suggests that the Monaco defender is available to buy for a fee in the region of €20 million (£18m) this summer and that Newcastle have approached the Ligue 1 side regarding a potential deal.

Newcastle’s transfer plans for this season have been greatly interrupted by a failed takeover bid and it is not clear whether the club would have the funds to pay such a fee to secure the Chilean colossus’ signature.

Newcastle have so far only managed to bring in Jeff Hendrick from Burnley and Mark Gillespie from Motherwell, both deals on free transfers.

Steve Bruce is also fairly well covered at centre-back. Club captain Jamaal Lascelles has the likes of Fabian Schar, Ciaran Clark, Federico Fernandez, and Florian Lejuene as possible defensive partners, so spending this amount of money on another would appear an odd move. 

However, Maripan is a top option who, according to the report, has his heart set on a move to England this summer with the principality side needing to sell amid the current financial crisis. 

It will be interesting to see how this story develops for Newcastle over the coming weeks.