PIF avoided NUFC disaster over "wild man" whose value has plummeted £12m in 4 months - opinion

Newcastle United are heading into their first summer transfer window under PIF after enjoying an excellent month of business in January.

The Saudi Arabian consortium backed Eddie Howe by bringing in the likes of Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

They also pursued a deal to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla to bolster their options at centre-back before signing Burn from Brighton.

The Brazilian defender has now been snapped up by fellow Premier League side Aston Villa in a move that Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett has claimed to be worth around £26m. He has also stated that Newcastle attempted to sign him for £30m in January, but a deal collapsed after the La Liga outfit demanded £38m for his services.

This means that Sevilla’s valuation of the 29-year-old plummeted by £12m in just four months, so PIF would have overpaid by a considerable amount of money if they had decided to match the La Liga club’s asking price, which would have been a disaster for the Newcastle owners.

Not only would they have overspent by £12m, they would also have brought in a centre-back with huge question marks over his ability.

South American football expert Tim Vickery previously raised concerns over the defender, saying: “It was a couple of years ago that a Brazilian journalist, based in Spain, brought my attention to Diego Carlos and said ‘I think this is the best Brazilian centre-back in Spain, have a look at him’.

“My conclusion, and he won the Olympic gold medal as well, is that we may be dealing with a centre-back who may look better than he is.”

Vickery added: “I worry about Diego Carlos. There are moments when he looks classy, but there are lots of mistakes and wild man things.”

In La Liga this season,