Former FC Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has been frozen out by Louis van Gaal at Manchester United but according to reports his nightmarish spell at Old Trafford might come to an end since he's quite close to reach a deal to join Newcastle United on loan.
The Spaniard is buried as the team's fourth goalkeeping option behind David De Gea, Sergio Romero and Sam Johnstone and he's quite likely to not feature for the senior team unless there's a rash of injuries. The Magpies, however, are exactly in that same situation and they are reportedly close to land the veteran shot-stopper as they are in huge need to sign a goalkeeper with some sort of first-team experience.
Newcastle struggling with goalkeeper injuries
Newcastle has had plenty of injury problems regarding their goalkeepers. Tim Krul - who's out for the rest of the season with a knee injury sustained on international duty - Rob Elliot and Karl Darlow are all sidelined with different injuries and as of now, the St. James Park's outfit has 18-year-old Freddie Woodman as the main option so an upgrade is definitively needed.
According to reports, the loan could be a one-month deal but it would have the potential to become a season-long agreement if both parties agree.
Valdes frozen out by Van Gaal
This is not the first time Valdes has been close to leave Manchester United. Following the problems between him and van Gaal, Valdes has been looking to leave the team since the past summer but he hasn't had the expected results. Both Chelsea and Liverpool expressed interest to sign him but United's reluctancy to sell a player to a rival team cooled things off. Since Newcastle are not much of a threat to United's title ambitions, however, a deal might happen sooner rather than later.
Valdes also had the chance to join Besiktas during the offseason, but the deal fell through at the last minute.
The 33-year-old Valdes joined Manchester United in January this year following his exit from Camp Nou Stadium. He has only made a couple of first-team appeareances and he has been relegated to train with the youngsters so he would be keen to move elsewhere.