Newcastle target ANOTHER Saudi Pro League star after Neves interest

Cameron Smith

31 Oct 2023 17:22 GMT
3 min read

Newcastle United are looking at bringing in Al-Ahli star Gabri Veiga, according to reports, following recent interest in signing Ruben Neves.

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Eddie Howe’s side are owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and have reportedly been told that any approaches for Saudi Pro League stars will be accepted.

That is according to TEAMtalk, who have reported that Veiga is highly thought of at St James’ Park, along with former Wolves star Neves.

Neves, 26, has already been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle, with The Sun reporting that Howe’s team were hoping to utilise their links with the Saudi Pro League to sign the Portuguese midfielder.

The PIF own the four biggest clubs in Saudi Arabia (Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal) as well as Newcastle. As a result, the Magpies have been heavily linked with signing some of the Saudi Pro League’s biggest stars.

Neymar, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Riyad Mahrez and Aleksandar Mitrovic were four of the biggest names to move to Saudi Arabia this summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo was the first superstar to join the league when he signed for Al-Nassr in January following his Manchester United exit.

However, Veiga is the player most admired by Newcastle’s hierarchy. The young Spaniard broke onto the scene at Celta Vigo last season and despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Napoli, he joined Al-Ahli for €40 million.

What has been said?

TEAMtalk have reported that he could be set for a Newcastle move, however, with an unnamed source admitting: “The option of getting players on-loan from the Pro-League is something that has been discussed. It is possibly the best option - given we are talking about players already owned by PIF.

“However, all options are being considered and the club are looking at players from England and beyond, nothing has been decided yet.”

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has also been linked with a move to Newcastle as they seek a possible replacement for Sandro Tonali.