Newcastle Fend Off European Interest to Land Peru Starlet Rodrigo Vilca
By Tom Gott
Newcastle United managed to fight off interest from a number of sides across Europe to snap up Deportivo Municipal midfielder Rodrigo Vilca.
The Magpies have agreed a deal to bring Vilca to St James' Park for a fee of around £250,000 and he is set to fly over to England on Thursday to put pen to paper on a contract with Steve Bruce's side.
The 21-year-old, who made his senior debut in 2018 but had to wait an extra season for his real breakthrough, managed three goals and three assists in all competitions for Municipal this year, and it has been confirmed to 90min that his form had attracted interest from across Europe.
The likes of Lille, Villarreal, Fiorentina, Atalanta and Hertha Berlin were all tracking Vilca, but Newcastle swooped in to get a deal over the line.
Vilca played his final game for his club on Wednesday - a 5-0 loss to Universitario de Deportes - and was visably distraught when leaving the pitch.
He will now head over to St James' to finalise a deal, and thanks to the fact he holds a Spanish passport, a work permit is not expected to be an issue.
Vilca will follow in the footsteps of Peruvian icon Nolberto Solano, who managed no fewer than 300 appearances for Newcastle between 1998 and 2007.
It is not clear whether Vilca has spoken to Solano ahead of making the move, although his brother Fabian told Telemundo's Diego Montalvan that the retired winger is held in high regard by everyone in Peru.
"[Rodrigo] is happy and very enthusiastic about this opportunity that is being presented to him, but he is also focused on Municipal and staying grounded, trying to always give the best of himself, on and off the pitch," he said.
"I can't really answer [whether he has spoken to Solano]. I can only tell you that both my brother and my family respect Solano a lot, who has left a very high legacy at Newcastle!"
