Would van der Wiel be a Decent Plan B?

Newcastle United’s pursuit of Lille right back Mathieu Debuchy appears to be coming to an abrupt halt with president Michel Seydoux claiming that the Frenchman won’t be leaving the club.

Despite the reluctance of the Ligue 1 side to sell, a deal could still be on the cards if the 27 year old remonstrates his frustrations, thus forcing a transfer through.

However, we can’t risk focusing all our attentions on signing Debuchy. The club has to look at alternative options if our chances of signing the Lille right back suffer another blow.

One alternative could be Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel. The 24 year old has recently expressed his desire to leave the Eredivise champions after falling down the pecking order for the right back position.

With one year left on his contract and a deteriorating relationship with the coaching staff, the Dutchman could be available for a significantly lower price than expected.

But Ajax’s willingness to sell shouldn’t undermine the fact that van der Wiel is a very talented player. Some of you may remember his impressive performances at the 2010 World Cup in which he showed the confidence to make runs forward and produce pinpoint crosses. His attacking ability certainly bears similarities to Debuchy’s style of play.

Considering his recent fall out with Ajax’s coaching staff, it is unsurprising to hear that van der Wiel is sometimes an ill-tempered footballer when things aren’t going his way. However, the Dutchman is eager to complete a move to St James’ Park.

If we were to sign him, I’m sure he’d get plenty of playing time which should mean that his temperament doesn’t spiral out of control.

For now, I think Mathieu Debuchy should remain as our first choice right back to replace Danny Simpson who looks set to depart. But given the complications surrounding the player, it appears that van der Wiel is also worthy of slotting into our back four.

If he is kept happy, the Dutch international has the potential to be a very good modern day full back when we consider his attacking abilities. And of course, the deflated transfer price makes the 24 year old a possible new arrival in the near future.

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