Newcastle United have been trying to solve their centre-back problem for the last three transfer windows.
For so long, Eddie Howe has been seeking a right-sided centre-back to be Fabian Schar’s long-term successor at St James’ Park.
It is proving to be the impossible task, with Newcastle trying to buy Malick Thiaw at the moment. He appears to be the frontrunner to move to Tyneside, with Marc Guehi to Newcastle unlikely this summer.
Newcastle United need younger legs in the middle of defence, yet have continuously struggled to get deals over the line in recent years.
They came extremely close in January, with Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis targeted. Instead, both players joined Manchester City.
Vitor Reis in action at the Club World Cup for Manchester City.
Photo by Ayman Aref/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Manchester City loan out former Newcastle United target
Fast forward a few months and one of them has already been shipped out.
It has been announced that Vitor Reis has left Manchester City to join Girona on a season-long loan deal.
Having made just four appearances after his £29.6million arrival from Palmeiras in January, Man City have decided it is best for him to temporarily play his football away from the Etihad Stadium.
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Vitor Reis has completed a season-long loan move to Girona, subject to international clearance.
Best of luck, Vitor! 🩵
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 8, 2025
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That has to be a source of frustration for Newcastle United, who worked towards sealing a deal for the Brazilian at the start of the year. After his move to Man City, it was reported that Newcastle were frustrated to miss out on Reis.
Had the 19-year-old moved to St James’ Park, he would have been on the path to becoming Sven Botman’s long-term partner at the back. Instead, Man City got him yet already appear to have no use for him.
All the while, Newcastle’s centre-back search goes on.
Newcastle United are suddenly competing for a very small pool of players
One of the problems Newcastle United have got is that they are suddenly trying to rub shoulders with the world’s top clubs.
They are in the Champions League again, and need to buy players of that calibre or potential to be that calibre to become stronger.
The issue is that the top clubs are also looking at the same players. Newcastle have missed out on so many players to rivals this summer, all of which would have improved Eddie Howe’s squad.
It was a similar story in January. Reis and Khusanov were great centre-back options for Newcastle. Sadly, they were so great that bigger clubs wanted them too.
Ultimately, Newcastle missed out, which is a theme that has continued into the summer of 2025.