Eddie Howe looks on from the Newcastle dugoutplaceholder image
Eddie Howe looks on from the Newcastle dugout | AFP via Getty Images
Newcastle are among several Premier League sides to be linked with a Serie A star with a budget-friendly release clause in his contract...
Every time the transfer window comes around, Denzel Dumfries’ name turns up in the gossip columns, usually in connection with Manchester United. It’s practically a tradition at this point despite the fact that the Dutchman has resolutely remained at Inter, season after season. But as rumours start to circulate yet again, perhaps it could be different this time – and perhaps could Newcastle be the most likely beneficiaries.
TEAMtalk claim that Dumfries’ representatives have been in contact with a number of Premier League sides to alert them to the existence of a release clause worth just £21m, a temptingly low fee for such an established top-level player.
Newcastle aren’t the only team they’ve been in touch with (Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and both Manchester sides are mentioned too) but the Magpies might be the team most in need of a new right wing-back this summer. So how likely is it that Dumfries finally makes it to the Premier League – and would he make sense as a potential Newcastle signing?
Why Denzel Dumfries could be just what Newcastle need this summer
An immensely powerful, all-action right wing-back, Dumfries has been a staple of Inter’s starting XI ever since arriving at the San Siro in 2021, as well as a regular in the Netherlands national team. If he really is available for just £21m, then quite a few teams will likely be intrigued. Newcastle just happen to make an especially large amount of sense as a suitor.
Kieran Trippier’s contract is expiring at the end of June and all signs point to the 35-year-old moving on. With the ever-injured Emil Krafth also expected to leave, that would leave Tino Livramento as the only natural right wing-back on the books – and he’s a major summer target for Manchester City and, perhaps, Arsenal. One way or the other, Newcastle are going to need to find at least one new full-back when the transfer window opens.
Dumfries’ style of play also happens to suit Newcastle’s methods rather neatly. An aggressive, attacking wing-back who is adroit at using his combination of technique and raw muscle to advance play quickly down the wing and impact the final third (he scored 11 goals in 47 games last season), Dumfries is rather more wing than back in terms of the way he plays the role. That shouldn’t be a problem for Newcastle, who use Lewis Hall in a similar way on the opposite side and are happy to have their wide players push up into the opposing half.
Teams who want a more defensively-minded wing-back would likely be wary of signing a player like Dumfries, who gets rather more touches in the opposition box than he does in his own. If Newcastle stick with Eddie Howe, however – or appoint a manager with a similar philosophy – then the 29-year-old should be a good fit, and the price is scarcely too steep.
Of course, just because Newcastle are among the teams said to have heard from Dumfries’ agents doesn’t mean that they’re at the front of the queue for his signature – or that he’s any closer to leaving Inter than he has been at any other point in the last few years when he’s found his name moving around the rumour mill. So will this time actually be any different?
How likely is Dumfries to move to the Premier League in the next transfer window?
It’s important to note that while TEAMtalk’s reporting suggests that preliminary talks have taken place with a number of teams, there have not yet been any formal discussions with Inter – save for those between Dumfries and the club over a new contract.
Whenever a player is linked with an especially broad range of clubs, it’s often part of a negotiating tactic, with a player’s agents spreading stories about wide-ranging interest in their client in order to encourage his current side to make a better contract offer, or at least to make getting a deal done a matter of greater urgency – and the report includes a reference to ongoing talks between Inter and Dumfries over an extended contract which would exclude that budget-friendly release clause.
Still, if that clause does indeed exist as stated then there is a very good chance that a few teams will try to twist Dumfries’ arm. Inter can’t easily match the salaries paid by top Premier League sides, nor those on offer in the Saudi Pro League, with interest also said to be coming from the Middle East.
At £21m, it would be surprising if a few teams didn’t take the opportunity to open talks seriously and to sound Dumfries out. Newcastle could very easily be among them, especially given how good of a fit he is with their current tactical set-up. But they would surely have some degree of competition if they did enter the bidding.
Of the other Premier League sides mentioned, it’s hard to imagine Manchester City, Manchester United or Chelsea, in their current iterations, pushing hard to sign a player who isn’t at his best in more defensive or possession-focussed systems. All three sides tend to use relatively restrained wing-back play as it stands, and that wouldn’t suit Dumfries as well as a system which encourages him to push forward as often as possible.
Liverpool have a more aggressive system but have also invested heavily in Jeremie Frimpong. They may see Frimpong’s future as an out-and-out winger after Mohamed Salah’s impending departure, while Conor Bradley is out for the long haul with a serious knee injury - all that may put a right-back on their shopping list, but not necessarily as a first priority.
Still, Liverpool would perhaps be the most obvious competition to Newcastle among the teams mentioned. Spurs could want a player like Dumfries in Pedro Porro leaves, but they have to survive relegation before they can worry about the summer transfer window.
Regardless of which teams might see Dumfries as a suitable signing, however, we suspect that the likelihood is that he stays at the San Siro and pens a new contract. But if Inter don’t meet his demands (and his case for a pay rise won’t be helped by a recent patch of poor form off the back of a serious ankle injury) then the situation could change quickly – and perhaps he really will move to England after all.
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