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Newcastle agree personal terms with Pepe Reina – Reports

7 years ago
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Thursday morning has seen claims that a Pepe Reina move to Newcastle has potentially moved significantly closer.

Earlier we covered the reports that Pepe Reina’s agent Manuel Garcia Quilon had now travelled to Naples for talks about the goalkeeper’s future, amid reports of Rafa Benitez wanting to be reunited with the keeper once again.

Pepe Reina turns 35 in August but having constantly played at a high level, he would surely be a great signing if Rafa can pull this deal off.

Now, Gazzetta dello Sport and beIN Sports journalist, Tancredi Palmeri, has broken the news that Newcastle have now allegedly agreed personal terms with the Napoli goalkeeper and that now it simply comes down to Reina deciding whether he wants to stay in Italy or return to the Premier League with Newcastle United.

Summer of 2014 saw the keeper move from Liverpool to Bayern Munich but after only a handful of appearances he was sold to Napoli in 2015 on a three year contract but was understood to be unhappy at the Serie A club despite a third place finish this past season and qualification to the Champions League, the keeper uncertain about his future with only a year remaining on his contract.

The media in Italy has also claimed this week that Wojciech Szczesny, who has spent the year on loan at Roma, is poised to leave Arsenal and join Napoli this summer to replace Pepe Reina.

Rafa signed Pepe Reina for Liverpool from Villarreal back in 2005, a perfect example of how ruthless he can be when making decisions regarding improving his team/squad.

Less than two months earlier, Jerzy Dudek had been the hero in Istanbul, as Rafa and Liverpool lifted the Champions League trophy.

However, Pepe Reina was brought in to be instant first choice for the following season, with Dudek relegated to the bench.

The 2013/14 season saw Rafa Benitez and his former keeper reunited, Reina going to Napoli on loan from Liverpool for the season and they won the Coppa Italia.

You will probably have seen the quotes below from Rafa about his former keeper and they were taken from an interview the Newcastle Manager gave to Italian media in early May, before this latest post-season speculation about Newcastle interest.

Rafa Benitez:

“I have a great personal relationship with Pepe Reina – he is a great goalkeeper.

“Pepe is a great player, but above all, he is a leader in the dressing room.

“We missed him at Napoli in the year he went to Bayern Munich and he can make a difference both on and off the pitch.

“Would I take him to Newcastle if he left?

“I respect Napoli, as that is where he is, and our club (Newcastle) has a lot of goalkeepers who are doing well.

“We need to be calm, we’ll talk to the club and decide on our targets.”

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