- Newcastle United reportedly make offer for Gremio’s Viery
- Centre-back regarded on of Brazil’s most promising
- Why Viery fits Newcastle’s strategy
Newcastle United have reportedly made a bid of €14m to Gremio for 21-year-old centre-back Viery, per Sebastien Vidal. The Brazilian is considered one of the country’s most promising talents, and his club aren’t too fond of letting him go at this stage.
The Magpies were expected to make a move for another centre-back this summer amid the expectations of a rather brutal rebuild. Gremio is said to be holding out for closer to €20m and want to push the interested parties into a bidding war for Viery’s services.
Newcastle have been used in recent windows to drum up interest in players, so it’s better to take this story with a pinch of salt – but Viery does mark an interesting profile that may appeal to the club this summer.
Viery under bid from Newcastle
The current campaign marks Viery’s second in senior football. He has played 25 games so far and has been excellent throughout, putting in some monstrous performances.
This has led to the 21-year-old emerging as one of Brazil’s top talents, and the feeling is that it’s only a matter of time before he moves over to Europe to ply his trade.
Viery is left-footed and is considered a modern ball-playing centre-back. At around 6’2″, he is surprisingly agile and technical for his size and looks to break lines and play forward where possible.
That, of course, doesn’t subtract from his physical attributes, though. Viery’s aerial ability is a strong point, and his prevalence in duels gives him the tendencies of an old-fashioned defender.
Viery has all the attributes to become a very good centre-back. Should the Magpies bring him in, a season playing second fiddle to Sven Botman, who he does have similarities with, would only be beneficial and could see him blossom into a starter before long.
Viery fits Newcastle strategy
Whilst the deal is yet to be backed by any substantial reports, a hunt for the acquisition of Viery would make a lot of sense for Newcastle.
Centre-back is an area that needs new blood, with the backup pair of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar, who looks set for a contract extension, both ageing.
Newcastle have made it clear there will be a conscious effort to decrease the average age of the squad this summer whilst targeting young gems who are yet to be uncovered by the elite clubs.
Viery fits that bill perfectly, with the potential to go far but still relatively uncovered by the wider footballing world.
