Newcastle have confirmed the arrival of Monaco left-back Antonio Barreca on loan for the rest of the season.
The Premier League strugglers have moved for Barreca after prioritising the need to sign a left-back due to concerns over Paul Dummett’s on-going hamstring problems.
Newcastle were expected to sign Romelu Lukaku’s brother, Jordan, on loan from Lazio earlier in the window but he failed a medical and the deal collapsed.
Barreca only joined Monaco from Torino last summer but has failed to make any impression at the France side this season.
The 23-year-old started seven league matches for Monaco and his move to Newcastle will finally enable Rafa Benitez to use Matt Ritchie further forward.
Newcastle are expected to be one of the most active teams on deadline day, with MLS star Miguel Almiron and Benfica midfielder Andreas Samaris also expected to join
Barreca finished on the winning side in just one of his seven appearances for Monaco in the league this season and mustered a poor WhoScored rating of 6.64 in that time.
In his only Champions League appearance for the club, Barreca garnered a WhoScored rating of 4.89 in Monaco’s 4-0 home defeat to Club Bruges at the start of November. He has not featured since then.
