Southampton win race for Newcastle transfer target

Newcastle target Toby Alderweireld of Atlético Madrid will sign with Southampton on Monday, according to multiple sources, including Belgian reporter Sven Claes.

Toby Alderweireld will go on loan to Southampton for one season. Fee unknown. Koeman-brothers convinced Red Devil to sign.

— Sven Claes (@svenclaes) August 31, 2014

Alderweireld is a central defender who has been linked to Newcastle and several other Premier League clubs since the summer of 2012, when he was then with Ajax. He has only made 22 appearances in all competitions since joining Atlético and has been said to have been eager to join a team that could give him significant playing time. Newcastle were apparently unable to convince him that they could be that team, despite only having 3 center backs in their senior squad following the rumored loan move of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa to AS Roma.

Most of Newcastle's potential transfer targets at the position have already moved to other teams or otherwise been made unavailable. Virgil van Dijk of Celtic is a name that has been thrown around, but the possibility of him joining the Toon seems very slim. It looks as if NUFC may be banking on Fabricio Coloccini's health, Mike Williamson's form, and Steven Taylor's volatility for the coming months.