Newcastle are reportedly planning to make Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal, as their first major signing after the club’s highly anticipated takeover.
Vidal, who became widely recognized as one of the best midfielders in world football at Juventus, where he won the Scudetti in all four of his seasons and was also integral for them in reaching the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final. His performance in the tournament earned him a place in the ten-man shortlist for the 2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
Arturo Vidal is credited to be tactically versatile and a hard-working player, who is capable of playing anywhere in midfield and in several different formations. He initially played in several different defensive and midfield roles in his early years, before eventually coming into his own in the centre, with Juventus, as either a “mezzala” or box-to-box midfielder, roles in which he is capable of assisting his teammates in both defence and attack.
Throughout his career, the Chilean has also been deployed as a central defender, as a defensive midfielder and as an attacking midfielder.
Vidal is a complete midfielder, known for his marking, positional sense, tackling, and anticipation, attributes which allows him to be effective at intercepting passes, winning back possession, and subsequently starting an attack. He is also gifted with good technique, pace, and stamina, as well as good vision, good distribution, a powerful shot from distance, an eye for goal and as well as his ability to make late attack runs from behind into the penalty area.
After three successful years at Bayern Munich, he signed for La Liga giants Barcelona. Vidal has featured sparingly for Barcelona since he arrived at Camp Nou, while his off-field issue with the club’s management concerning his bonus which led to a court case as seen his relationship with the club deteriorate further.
Vidal, recently this season has spoken out over his lack of game time, admitting that he is prepared to leave the Spanish champions in search of first team football.
It is understood that the Chilean’s contract expires at the end of the 2020/21 season, and Barca will be forced to sell him for a cut-price – or risk losing him for nothing, if the midfielder refuses to sign a new contract which seems more likely.
With reports of an interest from Newcastle United who are said to be on the verge of completing a major takeover by Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund) whose worth is estimated to be around – £260bn, Vidal’s move to Newcastle now looks more of a possibility than just a flame rumour, as the English club wish to start a revolution of signing quality players that can compete with other elite teams in Europe as soon as possible.
