Gary Neville admits Newcastle signing ‘sensational’ player would ‘scare him to death’ as he sends Howe warning
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville
Gary Neville has claimed Neymar joining Newcastle United would ‘scare him to death,’ after the Paris Saint-Germain star has been linked with a switch to St. James’ Park.
Eddie Howe has openly admitted the Magpies will look to sign ‘elite’ players this summer. Although, signing Neymar would still come as a major shock.
Nevertheless, some reports have suggested it is possible, so Neville may well be right to be fearful.
Indeed, as reported by TEAMtalk, the Newcastle owners have allegedly held discussions over making Neymar their ‘marquee signing.’
PSG are thought to be ‘willing’ to let the Brazil international leave this summer. This comes after thousands of their so-called ‘ultras’ protested outside his house on Thursday, who chanted: ‘Neymar, get out.’
After those protests, it’s thought Neymar – as well as Lionel Messi – is determined to leave the Parc des Princes.
There are only a handful of clubs in Europe who could afford the attacker’s wages, though, making Newcastle one of his possible destinations.
Neville: Neymar would turn Newcastle into a ‘circus’
Despite Neymar, quite obviously, being a sensational player, Neville doesn’t think signing Neymar would be a smart move for Newcastle.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said: “That would scare me to death, that sort of signing.
“Neymar is a sensational player but I think Eddie Howe all of a sudden would sort of have a circus – Eddie Howe doesn’t need a circus up here.
“You think about what Newcastle are at this moment in time, they’re building, they’ve got foundations.
“What you don’t want to do is basically go and disrupt that. Fans are really behind the team they’re behind the manager, there’s a sort of a spirit building.”
Indeed, Newcastle currently sit in third place in the Premier League table and look set to qualify for the Champions League next season.
So far, they’ve achieved that success without bringing in any huge-money players or big egos like Neymar, who, as mentioned, is causing problems at PSG.
In that sense, signing Neymar could be a really risky move for Newcastle.
Newcastle will need to sign big names ‘at some point’
However, while Neville doesn’t think signing Neymar is right for Newcastle right now, he does admit they will have to look at bringing in some big names eventually, if they want to compete among Europe’s elite.
Neville added: “They’re going to need to do it at some point, go for those big name signings, and they’re going to need to make that jump and Eddie’s going to need to be brave at a point and say ‘yeah let’s go for it’.
“But if there is a 25 or 26-year-old worth £100million, that player is probably likely to go to another club in Europe at this moment in time. You might end up getting offered a 32-year-old at that sort of money and Eddie might think ‘no’.
“Eddie and Dan Ashworth are going to have to be strong I think. They’re going to have to be strong with the ownership, who may want an acceleration, they may think ‘We’re in the Champions League now, we want this, this and this’.
“I think three, maybe four really good additions to this squad and have another season where they get into the Champions League potentially, or challenge for the Champions League and challenge for a trophy, is the right approach.
“Don’t go from being measured and all of a sudden think ‘we’ve got there’ and just blow everything that you’ve done and the principles you’ve done so far.”
