English newspaper “Daily Mail” reported earlier on Wednesday that Newcastle United sent scouts to the Czech Republic to watch Agim Ibraimi during the Champions League encounter between Viktoria Plzeň and Maribor.
The rumors about Agim Ibraimi began on Tuesday when “Ekipa.org” in Slovenia reported that an unnamed team had approached Maribor about a 3.2 million euro offer for the Macedonian international. That was the same day as the first leg of the Champions League play-off between Viktoria Plzeň and Maribor, which the Czech team won at home 3:1. Then, on Wednesday, news came out of England that Newcastle United sent scouts to the Czech Republic to watch Ibraimi in person.
Newcastle is doing its due diligence in scouting certain players with the club expected to lose influential midfielder Yohan Cabaye to a transfer. Some of the other names mentioned by “Daily Mail” as drawing interest from Newcastle, besides Ibraimi, include Bafétimbi Gomis, Yoann Gourcuff and Tom Ince. Certainly, those are three better and more accomplished players than Ibraimi, who could be viewed as an alternative in case Newcastle can’t sign its top targets.
Rumors about a potential transfer are nothing new for Ibraimi. He was linked with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and several Russian clubs earlier in the summer, but nothing materialized from that chatter. Thus, it’s tough to determine if Newcastle has legitimate interest in Agim, or if this is another smokescreen.
For Newcastle fans, Agim is primarily a winger who can play on both the right and left. He is left footed and with the Macedonian national team, manager Chedomir Janevski plays him on the right wing so he can regularly cut inside to his preferred left foot. As for his playing style, Ibraimi needs to be a focal point and dominate the ball in order to be effective. He has that role in Maribor where he has thrived, but had a disappointing stint in Turkey with Eskişehirspor. All of Agim’s club success has come in Slovenia, a far cry in terms of quality when you compare it to the English Premier League.
As for his national team career with Macedonia, it started slow as he was often indecisive and failed to make much of an impact. However, over the past year under Janevski’s guidance, Ibraimi has seemed more confident and all five of his goals have come in that span.
A transfer would be beneficial for both Maribor and Ibraimi. Maribor can cash in on a player they got for free in the summer of 2011, while Ibraimi can challenge himself in a much tougher league as he has nothing left to prove in Slovenia.