Newcastle United's meteoric rise from relegation battlers to European challengers is a glowing testament to how quickly things can change in football.
Since the PIF took over the club and entrusted Eddie Howe as manager, the English tactician deserves so much credit for this spectacular turnaround, having dragged the Magpies to Champions League football for the first time in 20 years last term.
Whilst the Toon are currently bottom of their continental group, there is still every chance of qualification with only three points separating them from table toppers Borussia Dortmund.
That said, Newcastle have struggled from a whole host of misfortune this term with 12 first-team stars currently injured or suspended, including summer signing Sandro Tonali, who is serving a suspension till August 2024.
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With this in mind, Howe is eyeing up a number of replacements for the Italian in January and one of those is 20-year-old Javi Guerra.
Newcastle transfer news – Javi Guerra
According to reports in Spain – as relayed by Caught Offside – Newcastle could submit a €40m (£35m) bid for the Valencia midfield maestro, whose performances for the Spanish club have caught the eye.
It is claimed that the Magpies are lining up a proposal for the talented youngster and could look to make a move for him once January rolls around.
Guerra is currently under contract with Valencia until the summer of 2027 and while it is unknown whether they are ready to sanction his departure, the report states that the Spanish side could be open to accepting the offer as it represents a substantial financial gain for them.
A technically gifted central midfielder, who would add creativity, control and composure in the middle of the park, the 20-year-old has all the attributes in his locker to become a key player for Newcastle and could easily supply Howe with a long-term upgrade on Tonali.
The statistics that show Guerra would be an upgrade on Tonali
Tonali was captured from AC Milan for his sensational technical and ball-carrying attributes, offering the Magpies more control in the centre of the park while allowing the likes of Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes to maraud further forward.
In the Premier League this term, he boasts a passing accuracy of 88%, a dribble success rate of 60% and a goal conversion of 33%, as per Sofascore, and while those are impressive statistics, Guerra has supplied better metrics than the 23-year-old across most departments in the past year.
Statistics
Javi Guerra
Sandro Tonali
Non-penalty goals
0.22
0.06
Expected assists (xA)
0.15
0.12
Shots total
1.82
0.80
Progressive carries
2.37
2.07
Successful take-ons
1.98
0.41
Carries into the pen area
0.55
0.06
Progressive carries received
2.98
3.16
All stats via FBref
Hailed by journalist Antonio Mango as "very talented", the Spaniard offers more of a threat in the final third, better quality chance creation and ball-carrying attributes than Tonali.
Guerra is able to glide past his markers from deep, as implied by the number of progressive carries and successful take-ons he amasses, whilst peppering the goal with shots.
According to talent scout Jacek Kulig, who describes him as a "deep-lying orchestrator", the 20-year-old boasts exceptional vision, athleticism and technique that could help Newcastle gain the upper hand in central midfield.
In the absence of Tonali, the Magpies have lost a bit of a stranglehold on proceedings in the middle of the park and could regain some much-needed technical excellence with the capture of the Spanish maestro in January.
