Yesterday, when Ed asked the question: “Is Newcastle cursed?” I laughed a bit and thought that it was just despair and anguish at current state of affairs, especially the recurring injuries and that once Newcastle solved their mess of injuries, they’d do a lot better (duh).
But now I’m hearing that Julio Baptista – that man who screwed more shots wide than any man has ever screwed shots wide before at Arsenal – is considering is future at Real Madrid and that he welcomes the interest from Newcastle United.
Wait, I’ll let the big man say it himself:
“I want the chance in pre-season to show our new coach Bernd Schuster I should be a part of his plans,”
“If things do not work out here I will have to look at other options in Spain and England.
“Newcastle is a big club but before I consider a move I need to know about my future with Real.
“I believe I showed at Arsenal last season that I can play in England, score goals and make goals.
“I’m sure my future will be sorted out in the next few weeks.”
1) Baptista is already making plans to leave, which shows (to me at least) that Real Madrid and specifically Schuster have said that they don’t want him.
“I believe I showed at Arsenal last season that I can play in England, score goals and make goals.”
I want a gallon of what he’s drinking – because despite all the expectations and despite the potential he flopped at the Emirates. There are many reasons behind that, but the bottom-line is that his spell at Arsenal was not a success and if Newcastle are going to base their buying decisions on his performances in redcurrent and yellow then they are out of their bloody minds.
But if you’re going after that man from Sevilla – and if Big Sam can bring the best out of him – then he could be an excellent signing.
I wouldn’t bet my house on it though – the sight of him missing passes and scoring chances was delirious (because he was an Arsenal player) and horrific (because he was missing gilt-edged chances) at the same time, and those are what I remember the most. He was truly the Beast at Sevilla though, let’s see if he can sort his demons out in time.
Thing is, if Baptista does turn the corner he might end up staying at Real Madrid after all.
Read more over at the Newcastle United blog, where Ed looks at JB’s stats and comes out with some very positive conclusions:
Do Newcastle really want Julio Baptista?
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