Newcastle have been offered 26 year-old former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, who is now playing for Corinthians and certainly he is a talented player and a good striker, who has been on loan at Sao Paulo last season.
Of course, like anybody coming into the Premier League for the first time he may take time to adjust and it certainly would be better to bring in somebody with Premier League experience this month.
Alexandre Pato – Corinthians´ Brazilian striker
News this week that Mike Ashley has approved a record bid for 22 year-old English striker Saido Berahino, and he would be a very good signing for us, but Chelsea, Stoke and maybe still Spurs – are all interested.
Berahino was wanted by Steve McClaren in the summer, but Graham Carr´s first choice – Alexandre Mitrovic – was brought in for around £13M and has taken time to adjust to the Premier League.
If Newcastle cannot get Berahino in this week, then Loic Remy remains probably our best next option, although reports out of Russia yesterday had him close to signing for Spartak Moscow, but why he would want to move to Russia we have no idea.
Charlie Austin is gone, so he´s no longer an option after he signed on at Southampton for a low £4M.
Which brings us back to Plato, who while he was at AC Milan played 150 times with 63 goals and 8 assists.
Since he´s been at Corinthians (joined in 2013) he´s played 39 times with 12 goals and while on loan at Sao Paulo he´s scored 24 goals in 76 appearances for them and shown some excellent form.
If we cannot get Berahino or Remy into the club, then Plato may not be a bad choice.
Certainly he will be a lot cheaper than French International Alexandre Lacazette who also has no Premier league experience and if news reports are to be believed Newcastle have offered £25M to Lyon for him.
The best deal would be to get Plato in on loan for the rest of the season with an option to buy this summer, and he´s a lot cheaper then the Frenchman.
Then we could see how he plays, but the asking price seems to be around £10M for the Brazilian hit-man – and he would appear to be much better value than Lacazette.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
119 comments so far
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Comment #41If we want a really tough defender how about this fella?
https://theoldspeakjournal.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/misc7.jpg
hibbitt
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Comment #42just another show pony ………can he play LB????
Sazzer
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:01 PM
Comment #43Interesting thing with Pato is that he has only missed 1 games since he left Milan according to transfermarkt.
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:01 PM
Comment #44Fair enough cyprus mate. I can’t recommend Kant too strongly however. Sign him up Lee.
jayphoto
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:01 PM
Comment #45@Jesper – think you underestimate McClaren. He had Bryan Ruiz playing out of his skin at twente. I actually think we play a lot slicker more european style than we did under Carver, Pardew, Hughton or Kinnear…
McClaren (whilst being nowhere as good) seems to set us up in a very similar style to that which Simeone prefers, similar to galtier at st ettiene too
Not sure how you take its so British
we play out from the back
we hardly cross
We never play long.
Gini, Perez and Sissoko interchange
We have 2 CB’s who are under 182cm
Not very british for me. Not saying we’re playing great but i don’t see it as typically english football
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:05 PM
Comment #46There are advantages to being dead as well YCMIU mate. How much time on the trainer’s table is he likely to need? You can store him anywhere when travelling to away games. He’s very light on consumables as well. This might be a whole new breakthrough area for Ashley to look into…..
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:06 PM
Comment #47Didn’t Monty Python have a Dead Philosophers Football Match at one point. If it’s good enough for them, it should be good enough for us. Harrumph….
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:07 PM
Comment #48Hibbit mate, he mainly likes to play left behind…..Yo…
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:08 PM
Comment #49Funny how all of the above are the strikers we are not getting nor even approached so could this be farce? Or just another bs story to keep is on our toes?
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:09 PM
Comment #50G2
Yes i do remember monty pythons dead philosopher sketch vaguely. We should follow suit. Harrumph indeed.
I see Danny Graham is likely to leave the makems and go to blackburn…. damn,anoth fantastic striker we could have snapped up…… ???
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:09 PM
Comment #51:p :p :p
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:11 PM
Comment #52Also didn’t Pato suffer with fitness whilst at AC Milan?
I’m sure he couldn’t handle the Italian league so what makes you think he could handle the pressure of the premier league?
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:12 PM
Comment #53This could definitely be a farce Nezza mate @49. Ashley is very good with farce and black comedy. His favourite actors are these 3 lads apparently.
https://cravencottagenewsround.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/nihilists.jpg
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:15 PM
Comment #54Pato had some angst with AC Nezza mate. And apparently he would natter on about shadows in caves etc….
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:16 PM
Comment #55G2
I thought that was Mike, Lee and Carr lol they seem focused though so I doubt it’s them 🙂
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:17 PM
Comment #56We should of snapped up Pato in his teenager years
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:19 PM
Comment #57That reminds me. I should drop another ferret in Ashley’s bathtub at some point…..
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:21 PM
Comment #58G2
What happened to the first ferret? Or shouldn’t I not of asked that lol
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:24 PM
Comment #59That whole situation is still before the courts Nezza mate. I can’t comment on it at this time…..
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:25 PM
Comment #60Jayphoto
Remember at the start when I stated about McClaren style of play that he will have the lads learning his style like he did at Twente and Derby ( utilising the wings whilst being creative and goals from the centre )?
It seems my employers were correct about his style.
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:27 PM
Comment #61G2
Lo nee bother mate, let me know the verdict though
Sazzer
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:28 PM
Comment #62NezzaNUFC
He did suffer with injuries at A.C Milan but have been playing more or less 89 games in row since then.
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:28 PM
Comment #63What’s with this whole 18th place situation anyway? Steve assured us we were a top 8 team. We need some comforting words of wisdom now. This has been a very nice story with Plato and everything Ed but we want real progress. We want more Belgian midget strikers. We want wins and that sort of thing. We want our old onion bag to bulge more often…..Harrumph…..
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:31 PM
Comment #64I think Plato is a definite no then. I believe he prefers backgammon anyway…..
WWSBRD
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:32 PM
Comment #65Sazzer
Whats the physicality like in the Brazilian league?
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:32 PM
Comment #66Cheers sazzer, but when did these rumors arise and why Pato all of the sudden? Does anyone know his valuation and would he come to Newcastle?
dok - the horrid colonial
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:33 PM
Comment #67G2,
if the player is dead, does that go towards our physio tally?
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:34 PM
Comment #68Could we get a Wonga loan to pay for Berhino? I hear their interest rates are very appealing. I’ll mention it to Mike…….
NezzaNUFC
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:36 PM
Comment #69WWS
It’s more paced than any other league, it’s rather like look at my skill rather than my team work but it does have some brilliant Brazilian players though
GeordieTwo
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:36 PM
Comment #70Hmmm….. Excellent question dok mate. I’m sure Ashley is looking into it as we speak. What about retired players as well? Have we approached Pele yet? Leave no stone unturned Mike.
Tsunki
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:41 PM
Comment #71G2 I wouldn’t go for Archimedes on Principle. I have a theorem about Pythagoras though…
Money Python did a Philosophers Drinking Song, I remember the line…
Renee DesCartes
Was a drunken fart
I drink, therefore
I am.
Tsunki
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:42 PM
Comment #72G2 that would be no headstone unturned by the look…
WWSBRD
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:42 PM
Comment #73Nezza
Whats the tackling like though? They go in hard all over or is it more soft tackling unless its last ditch?
Rotonda heights
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:45 PM
Comment #74This Pato rumour was blown out of the water 2 days ago.
Rotonda heights
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:46 PM
Comment #75shame about tiote’s greed, no one else will offer 8M for him.
lukes26
Jan 19, 2016 at 5:59 PM
Comment #76Pato is the Brazilian version of Michael Owen..let west ham have him
Jib
Jan 19, 2016 at 6:00 PM
Comment #77Modern Descartes
It’s a dodgy link therefore it’s spam
BOOM BOOM
LGFUAD21
Jan 19, 2016 at 6:01 PM
Comment #7845jayphoto
Agree 100%
I think you can split our season into 3 phases.
1) Looking up but a bit nervy. Some scrappy play as players bedded in and got used to Mcclaren’s style
2) Freefall as results didnt come. Fear took voer and we collapsed after good 30 min periods of games.
3) Unlucky/Unable to capitalise on chances.
Throughout all of it I have noted that players look more comfortable on the ball than before.
I think there are signs that Mcclaren is doing some good work on the training ground and I hope that West Ham and Shelveys performance in particular signal what he can do with this club if he is given time and support.
Progress has been slower than we’d like but I think it’s coming. Schteeve had to first break Pardew’s anti-football (effective at times, dull and impotent at others), change the philosophy as well as doing it while players are psychologically scarred from what has happened.
Momentum is a powerful thing. Leicester appear to have carried theirs from their good end last year.
Arsenal almost always start the next season well if they end strong.
ON PATO
I’ve always been sceptical of him. I believe he left AC because his confidence was shot and he was homesick.
Brazilians on the whole have a poor record of adapting to our league. I personally think the football culture of Brazil is not conducive to producing good team players which is what we need. Hence why they have a decent national team on paper but collapse at tournaments.
Not what we need IMO. Always thought he shouldve gone back to Serie A or even Spain and realised his potential.
LGFUAD21
Jan 19, 2016 at 6:09 PM
Comment #79WWSBRD
They go down like sacks of (you get the idea) in Brazil.
I wouldnt say “He couldnt handle the physicality of Serie A, therefore he couldnt handle the Prem”.
The Serie A has some crunching, nasty tackles going on. It’s more the pace but I persoanlly think there are pros and cons to either.
Play in the Prem you get used to doing a lot of running and scrapping.
Play in the Serie A and you have to learn to defend with your head (not literally necessarily, just its a mind game)
I remember Gary Neville talking about playing in the CL and having to sit back against some teams and he was saying it’s just as taxing if not more to do that than the constant chop and change of the Prem.
Anyone who watches Serie A seriously and pays close attention to team shapes its actually amazing to see how they work off the ball.
I think if you put an italian defender in the prem it’s not always the pace that catches them, it’s the lack of organisation relative to what they are used to. Premier league defenders have to play singularly at times.
Conversely, if you put an english defender in the Serie A you’d probably see that them struggle too. In fact we did with Micah Ricahrds and Ashley Cole (I know Cole was getting old but he was a youngun by Italian standards.
Sazzer
Jan 19, 2016 at 6:11 PM
Comment #80NezzaNUFC
He’s with the same agency as a lot of our french players Mondial Sports and the agency looking to find him a club in Premier League. He seem to be available for around £5-12m. However, he might struggle to get deal at bigger club given that he’s a gamble being away from the European scene for awhile and his history of injuries at Milan.