Newcastle: 'Pacey' 32-cap star 'very gettable' at St James' Park | OneFootball

Newcastle United target Gonzalo Plata could be “very gettable” this January, with the Real Valladolid and Ecuador winger attracting interest from Eddie Howe’s side, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The 22-year-old is currently on World Cup duty in Qatar with the South American nation.

What’s the latest on Plata?

Plata played the full 90 minutes in the World Cup’s opening game, as he helped his nation to a 2-0 victory over hosts Qatar, before playing in the majority of the South American’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the following game.

The wide man will now be focused on helping his nation secure the point they need in Tuesday’s final group game with Senegal to secure their passage to the last 16 of the competition.

Despite not providing a goal or an assist in either of Ecuador’s group-stage clashes so far, the Valladolid winger still left CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs “impressed” with his showing on the global stage.

And O’Rourke believes that Plata plays in a position that they would like to add to their squad, and a sizeable offer would likely be accepted by the La Liga side.

What has O’Rourke said about Plata?

“It is a position that Newcastle would like to add to, they do want to bring in [a winger].

“He’s a pacey winger who can play wide on the left.

“I think he could be somebody who could be very gettable this January transfer window.

“Especially with his price tag, I don’t think Real Valladolid would be in any position to turn down any sizable offer for his signature.”

What does the future hold for Plata?

In Jacobs’ aforementioned tweet in which he praised the performance of Plata in the South American side’s clash with Qatar, he mentioned that Leeds United, Atlético Madrid and Roma have all been keeping tabs on the Ecuador star in the past, suggesting that the Magpies may face competition for his signature in the new year.

Journalist Dean Jones has already told GIVEMESPORT that Newcastle rate Plata highly ahead of the South American side’s World Cup opener, and an impressive showing in La Tri’s final group game could only increase the Toon’s admiration for the winger.

The 32-time Ecuador international has made ten appearances for Valladolid this season, providing two assists in that time according to Transfermarkt, suggesting that Eddie Howe would like to see an improvement in his goalscoring productivity if he was to acquire the services of the wide man in the winter.

But what he lacks in goalscoring he makes up for in his ability on the ball, ranking in the top 7% of attacking midfielders/wingers across Europe’s big five leagues and the Champions League and Europa League for dribbles completed per 90 minutes (2.74) over the last 365 days, according to FBref.

It’ll be interesting to see how much Newcastle would be willing to spend on the winger in January, but it does seem that an impressive World Cup display will only increase the suitors chasing after his signature, so PIF may want to move quickly if they want to secure this deal.