Hassane Bande cannot stop scoring in Belgium and has attracted the interest of Newcastle United – among many others.
Joselu, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic have done little since the start of the season to suggest that Newcastle United’s pursuit of a new number nine is now unnecessary.
The trio have scored just four goals between them so far in 2017/18 – which is a far less combined than a highly-rated striker who appears to have caught Newcastle’s eye.
ClubCall reported earlier this month that The Magpies were keeping a close eye on 19-year-old Hassane Bande – and seemingly added credibility to those claims when they were spotted scouting his KV Mechelen side just a day later, via Het Nieuwsblad.
Bande is enjoying a superb debut season in Mecheln’s first team and has eight goals to his name from 12 league appearances – making him the division’s joint top scorer alongside Waasland-Beveren’s Swedish international Isaac Thelin.
And a deal for the teenage hitman would not break the bank either. As reported by DH, Mechelen’s president wants just £3.5 million for Bande in January – which is obviously well within even Newcastle’s restricted budget.
Bande, however, is likely to be a player for the future rather than someone who can immediately step up to the first team. Newcastle will not be alone in their pursuit, however, with PSV, Wolfsburg, Sevilla and Valencia all keen.
But if Premier League clubs are looking for a highly-rated young goalscorer available on the cheap, Belgium may be the place to go. Everton paid just £7 million for KAS Eupen phenomenon Henry Onyekuru this summer after all, as reported by the BBC.
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