Newcastle United have seen off both Manchester United and Liverpool in the battle for Osasuna winger Victor Munoz, according to reports in the Spanish media.
Madrid-based publication AS claim that two of the Magpies’ Premier League rivals did make enquiries for the Spanish international.
However, Eddie Howe’s side were the ones that made the strongest play for Munoz, and he is still expected to make the switch to St James’ Park.
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It is believed that Newcastle’s bid is worth £30m up front with another £4.5m due in performance-related add-ons.
Real Madrid could re-sign him from Newcastle next year
The biggest revelation (which was revealed by AS and confirmed by The Chronicle) is that Munoz’s previous club, Real Madrid, are keen to retain a buyback clause, which could be activated next summer.
While the La Liga giants won’t be activating their current buyback option (which is worth £6.9m), they have requested to retain the rights if and when he moves to St James’ Park.
The Magpies are said to have no issue with that, although it is still not clear how much Real would have to pay to bring him back to Spain in a year’s time.
Why is Munoz in such high demand?
The 22-year-old had a productive season for Osasuna, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists in 36 appearances, which is an impressive return considering his team only narrowly missed out on relegation.
Munoz’s performances were rewarded with a call up for his national team, and he scored on his debut against Serbia during a friendly back in March.
The forward made his second appearance versus Egypt in a 0-0 draw just a few days later. Both performances were seemingly sufficient to convince manager Luis de la Fuente to name him in his 26-man squad for the World Cup.
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