Asensio is at the final year of the contract and probably at his final year in Madrid. Reports claim he has little interest in signing an extension and will therefore aim to secure a move to another big European club. The winger has been on the radars of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Juventus and AC Milan in previous months. But it is now Newcastle who appear to be pushing hardest to capture him, from England at least.
Asensio has played almost 250 games for Los Blancos since making his debut in 2016, winning three La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups in that time. However, he has fallen out of favour under a number of managers in recent years, and has made only four appearances totalling just 47 minutes so far this season.
According to Sport Witness, who cite reports coming out of Spain, Newcastle have ‘knocked on the door’ for Asensio. They want to beat any other interested clubs to his signature and are planning to submit a bid in January. The winter transfer window is Real’s last chance to receive any money for Asensio. If they reject the January approaches for him then the Spaniard can walk away from the Bernabeu for free next summer.
Newcastle are eyeing a new winger as they aim to challenge the ‘Big Six’ and Asensio would be a perfect addition. He is a player with international and Champions League experience, who has also won plenty of trophies while at Real. The report doesn’t reveal how much Newcastle’s bid for Asensio could come to, or whether Real will accept it straight away.
However his potential arrival at St James’ Park should not be seen as a certain thing at all. That’s because the Sport Witness article notes other reports in Spain which claim Asensio has already reached an ‘agreement’ over a separate move. They suggest he is close to joining Real’s fierce rivals Barcelona on a free transfer in summer 2023. Rumours of a switch to Barcelona have grown really much in recent weeks, and Asensio himself recently refused to rule out the prospect of making the move between rivals.
It would be an incredibly brave transfer for him to make. Dealings between the two bitter rivals are very rare but not impossible and when they have done it was met with huge controversy – just look at Barca fans’ treatment of Luis Figo after he went from the Blaugrana to Real in 2000. Javier Saviola the last such player to make the direct switch in 2007 after his Barcelona contract expired. Catalan radio station RAC1 has now gone further and claims that a preliminary agreement has been reached between Asensio and Barcelona over a four-year deal starting in the summer of 2023.
If Asensio takes this into account, then it would probably be best for him to try out a new league and come to England. Newcastle would be ready and waiting to snap him up if he went for this option. However, it seems Asensio wants to remain in his native Spain and continue fighting for La Liga titles for which no one can really blame him. Barca may not be the force they once were. But they are certainly back on the up under the management of Xavi.
Another factor that must be considered is Barca’s offer of Champions League football. They are in the competition after finishing second in La Liga last term. Newcastle, in contrast, cannot offer Asensio this as they came 11th in the Prem last season. Asensio ideally wants to continue playing in the UCL, which makes a Newcastle move not very likely next summer.
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