Diego Carlos will play for Sevilla tonight against Valencia if he asked to do so after giving Julen Lopetegui his word that he won't cause any disruptions behind the scenes with the La Liga title chasers.
Newcastle United's bid for Carlos is the talk of the dressing room at Sevilla but it isn't being fuelled by the player himself as the story is doing the rounds in the Spanish newspapers after the Magpies upped their bid.
Carlos has notified the club via his representatives that he wants to join Newcastle but as United learned in their unsuccessful pursuit for Unai Emery with Villarreal and the signing of Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid, game day isn't the best time to conduct business in Spain.
Villarreal were irked by the approach for Emery on the night they faced Young Boys Berne in the Champions League while Atletico wanted their recent Copa del Rey tie with Majadahonda concluded before signing off his transfer.
Sevilla don't want to sell Carlos and are yet to agree a price with the Spanish Press reporting this morning that only a "dizzying offer" will result in club president José Castro Carmona, renowned for keeping his nerve in the transfer market, sanctioning the sale.
Newcastle's offer - according to those at Sevilla - stands at around €36million at the moment but is likely to have to be increased and the Spanish side are protected by Carlos' minimum fee release clause of £80million.
After yesterday's news that Carlos had handed in a transfer request broke, a Sevilla source said: "Things are the same, Newcastle will need to pay more."
Yet this can change very quickly and Newcastle persistence with the deal could pay off now that Carlos' head has been turned.
Lopetegui's stance on transfers was clear in the build-up to the important clash with Valencia.
After snapping with reporters last week when asked about Carlos, he said: "We wait for the end of the transfer window but want a stronger team at the end than we did at the start of it.
"There is a long time left in the window but we have to be stronger when it finishes."
Carlos has insisted he will play ball with Sevilla and travelled to Valencia for a game which has caught the imagination of the Spanish public and will be beamed around the world.
When the dust settles on the La Liga clash tonight Lopetegui and co might make it clearer to Newcastle exactly what it will take to lure Carlos away.
Their priority won't be Newcastle's impending deadline to get Carlos registered for the Leeds game on Saturday but as they fight for the title in Spain they will want to reinvest money from his sale.
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