Newcastle United are preparing to spend heavily on new players following their controversial takeover by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
According to Marca, Porto’s Luis Diaz has emerged as one of the top targets for the Magpies, who recently became the world’s richest club.
Mired in a relegation battle and without a win so far this season, there’s plenty of work to do to get Newcastle challenging at the right end of the table.
That will start with the appointment of a new manager after an embattled Steve Bruce left the club by mutual consent two days ago.
Paulo Fonseca, formerly of Shakhtar Donetsk and Roma, was immediately installed as the favourite to take over at St. James’ Park.
Once he’s in place, the new owners’ focus will inevitably shift towards the January transfer window and recruiting top-quality players to get Newcastle out of trouble.
Diaz, who has a release clause of £67.5million in his contract, would certainly give their attacking threat a much-needed boost, reducing their reliance on Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson.
A Colombian winger with 29 caps and seven goals for his country, including four at this summer’s Copa America, he joined Porto on a five-year deal in July 2019.
Diaz was a regular throughout his first two seasons in Portugal, but he has now taken his game to another level and looks ready to join one of Europe’s top leagues.
He has already found the net seven times in 11 appearances, most recently notching the winner against AC Milan in the Champions League.
The ball fell to him in the area and he finished calmly to give Porto a much-needed victory and condemn Stefano Pioli’s side to their third consecutive group stage defeat.
