Why Gabriel Barbosa could be a smart signing for Newcastle United

According to the Chronicle, Newcastle United are one of the Premier League sides keeping tabs on Gabriel Barbosa, who helped Flamengo win the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday night with his brace against River Plate.

The Brazilian, 23, failed to live up to the high expectations at Inter Milan when he joined from Santos a couple of years ago. He managed just a single goal in Serie A in the 2016/17 season before being loaned out to Benfica, his old club Santos, and now Flamengo. However, the forward is set to return to Inter in January.

But the report claims the Serie A side are ready to cash in on Gabriel Barbosa and will ask for a fee of £20million. Crystal Palace are also credited with an interest but Newcastle United must do everything in their powers to bag the 23-year-old’s signature in January.

Newcastle have struggled throughout the new season, with the forwards failing to supply goals regularly. New signing Joelinton has lacked service more often than not, managing just one goal in the process.

Despite making a fine start to life in England, Joelinton has gone off the boil and is without a goal for nine league games. But one cannot blame the Brazilian entirely as he has looked totally isolated up front. As cover for Joelinton, Steve Bruce only has Dwight Gayle and Yoshinori Muto but the duo has generally been overlooked.

Andy Carroll is getting closer to full fitness but is yet to start a game for the Magpies as the 30-year-old looks to get back into the picture at St. James’ Park after a long-term injury. Without any second thoughts, Bruce must improve his side’s attacking threat by signing a new forward during the winter transfer window.

In that regard, Gabriel Barbosa could be a smart addition to Newcastle’s attacking ranks. The 23-year-old failed to set the world alight at Inter but in the last couple of seasons, he has enjoyed fantastic loan spells with Santos and Flamengo.

He has hit 31 goals in 38 games for Flamengo, guiding the club to the Copa Libertadores title on Saturday.

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The Brazilian has been prolific lately, with his goalscoring abilities being a huge contrast from how he played for Inter. Barbosa has developed into a well-rounded attacker and he would be a great option to support Joelinton in the Newcastle attack.

In fact, the former Santos man would certainly help bring out the best in Joelinton, whilst making a massive difference at St. James’ Park.

Verdict

Gabriel is scoring goals for fun in Brazil and he’s exactly the kind of player Newcastle need. Hence, the Magpies must not hesitate to splash £20million in order to sign him during the January transfer window.