Sunday, August 31, 2008

Newcastle set to sign Uruguayan international


Newcastle United are on the brink of capturing their third South American of the summer with Uruguay international Ignacio Gonzalez en route to Tyneside from Valencia. (setanta)

The midfielder has only just agreed to join the Che from Uruguayan club Danubio but will immediately be loaned to The Magpies for the coming season to join Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez in Kevin Keegan’s squad. The 26-year-old, who passed a medical with Valencia on Friday, is already on the move as coach Unai Emery has a number of alternative options at his disposal. Valencia vice-president Fernando Gomez has confirmed that the deal is close to being agreed with the Premier League club.

“We have many players who can play in midfield and this is an excellent solution for both sides,” said Gomez. “We expect the formalities to be completed on Monday morning.” Gonzalez spent a spell on loan with Monaco last season, making five appearances and scoring one goal in Ligue 1. His arrival in Newcastle is likely to be delayed as he will play for his country in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers on September 6 and 10.

This looks like a decent acquisition on loan. The Newcastle midfield is badly lacking some creativity and this may be just the spark in the middle that they need.