Newcastle United may receive an early transfer boost with Borussia Monchengladbach now willing to sell striker Alassane Plea this summer.
The Magpies looked into signing a number of strikers during the January window but only ended up with Chris Wood.
One of the names linked was Gladbach star Plea, with L’Equipe claiming that Newcastle were showing a strong interest in the Frenchman.
It was even suggested that Newcastle were seeking the opinion of Allan Saint-Maximin, who played with Plea at Nice.
January passed without Plea joining Newcastle or any other team for that matter, staying at Gladbach into the final 18 months of his contract.
Bild now claim that Plea will be free to leave Gladbach this summer with the Bundesliga club hoping to sell.
That may just attract new interest from Newcastle, who seemed very keen during the January window.
Plea, 28, has bagged five goals and five assists this season, with two goals and four assists coming in the last five games.
The cynical view may be that Plea’s form suddenly improving since the end of the January window means he’s angling for a summer move.
Newcastle will likely have close tabs on Plea’s performances in Germany and may be one of a number of strikers on their radar.
Capable of playing up front or out wide, Plea is a versatile attacker who has been compared to Tottenham Hotspur hero Harry Kane.
Plea will likely never reach Kane’s level, but he can provide another scoring option for Newcastle alongside Wood and Callum Wilson.
Come this summer, Plea will have just one year left on his deal and Newcastle may be able to engineer a deal worth around £15million tops.
There isn’t much resale potential in Plea though, and Newcastle may want a younger option to support Wood and Wilson, who are in a similar boat.
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