Report: Newcastle considering loan offer for Dele

The cat’s already out of the bag that Dele is going to have a tough time cracking Antonio Conte’s starting lineup this season, possibly ever. Multiple media sources have already reported that Tottenham Hotspur are basically allowing Dele to leave in January, probably on loan.

Sure as clockwork, here comes a Newcastle rumor. The Northern Echo, a regional paper in the north of England, is now claiming that Toon and manager Eddie Howe are considering a loan offer in January for Dele, but with one catch — they are apparently hoping to include a purchase clause in the loan deal that would kick in should Newcastle avoid relegation this season, something that is very, VERY much in question at the moment.

My immediate visceral reaction to a purchase clause for Dele from Newcastle was negative, but the more I think on it, the more I wonder whether it might be a good idea. Newcastle are newly flush with money and most of the league hates their new owners, so while Spurs might normally be hesitant to include a clause like that in most circumstances, they might be able to get a high or even ridiculous price for Dele in there.

If Spurs really just thought that Dele could turn things around with a loan elsewhere and then reintegrate himself back into Conte’s first team plans, I might feel differently, but there aren’t many indications that this is correct. If, by contrast, Spurs just want to maximize whatever value is left in Dele’s potential transfer fee, this feels like a decent way to achieve that.

That said, I’m not sure how well he fits in a Newcastle side that already has players like Joelinton, Joe Willock, and Miguel Almiron on their team. But maybe that doesn’t matter!