da 888casino： According to reports in The Telegraph, Manchester City are closing in on a deal to sign Newcastle United target Pepe Reina from Napoli.
What’s the word, then?
da gbg bet： Well, Magpies manager Rafa Benitez is keen to sign a new number one goalkeeper this summer and he has been heavily linked with Reina, who he bought for both Liverpool and Napoli during his spell as manager at both clubs.
However, the Premier League new boys have failed to strike a deal for the 34-year-old and now The Telegraph reports that Man City are set to sign the Spaniard as a replacement for Claudio Bravo, who failed to impress during his first season in England.
The Citizens have already had a £2.6m offer for the stopper turned down by the Serie A outfit, who want £4.4m, but The Telegraph says the two clubs expect to reach an agreement in the next few days.
How did Reina do last season?
Despite the fact that he looks set to join City for a cut-price fee as he has just one year remaining on his Napoli contract, he was once again their first-choice goalkeeper last season.
The Spaniard showed that he is still able to perform at the highest level by conceding just 38 goals and keeping 12 clean sheets in 37 Serie A appearances.
With 285 Premier League outings to his name it was no wonder Benitez was keen as he looks to add more experience to his squad ahead of what is going to be a huge season for the Tyneside outfit.
How big a blow is it for Benitez?
It’s a pretty huge blow.
The former Liverpool boss had obviously set his sights on bringing Reina to St James’ Park as his first-choice goalkeeper and he will now need to look elsewhere for a more experienced stopper than the likes of Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot.
There aren’t exactly an abundance of options on the transfer market either with Joe Hart also on the verge of completing a move to West Ham.
Could Newcastle still rescue a deal?
They could certainly try.
Reina would know that he would be the number one for the Magpies but that isn’t guaranteed to be the case at City, who have already signed Ederson from Benfica for £35m earlier this summer.