After 2016 hijack, Newcastle should consider new move for Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe

Follow us on Google Discover

Bournemouth could offload striker Benik Afobe in January.

Benik Afobe of AFC Bournemouth

According to The Sun, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers are set for a scrap over the signature of Bournemouth striker Benik Afobe – and Newcastle United should at least consider getting involved in the race.

Afobe, 24, joined Bournemouth in January 2016 having starred with Wolverhampton Wanderers, hitting 23 goals in 48 games for the Championship club, having left Arsenal in January 2015.

The striker has blown hot and cold since signing for Bournemouth, scoring ten times in 47 games for the Cherries, but there is undoubted potential in the DR Congo striker that may be untapped right now.

Now behind Jermain Defoe and Joshua King at Bournemouth, with Callum Wilson still to return, Afobe looks to be the odd man out at the Vitality Stadium, as The Sun now claim what West Brom and former club Wolves want to sign Afobe, with bidding starting at around £12million.

One club who could be in the market for a striker in January is Newcastle United, especially given the lingering question marks over the futures of Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Back in January 2016, The Telegraph reported that Newcastle had intended to sign Afobe having tracked his development with Wolves, but were stunned when Bournemouth swooped in and signed him.

Since then, Afobe hasn’t quite enjoyed a strong run with Bournemouth, but he does have attributes that Newcastle lack in the final third; much is made of his pace and strength, but he is a versatile forward who can hold the ball up or even threaten in behind, whilst he can also play as a penalty box poacher, as he showed with Wolves.

Afobe maybe wouldn’t be a signing to get Newcastle pulses racing, but if Gayle leaves in January and Afobe arrives for a similar price, they would be adding a younger striker with greater versatility for a similar price – and with untapped potential, he may just be a gamble worth taking for Rafael Benitez and the Magpies.