Belgium’s breakthrough star Hassane Bande was linked with Newcastle United last week and now they have watched him in action.
There were no shortage of scouts in attendance as Sporting Charleroi hosted KV Mechelen in the Jupiler League on Friday night. Het Nieuwsblad reports that 27 clubs had sent scouts to watch this Belgian top flight clash – including Newcastle United.
And this takes on extra significance considering that, just a few days ago, ClubCall reported that The Magpies were interested in Mechelen’s goalscoring phenomenon Hassane Bande.
The 19-year-old is enjoying a remarkable breakthrough season for the struggling side and has scored eight goals in just seven starts to sit at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Bande, however, did not add to his recent purple patch in front of Newcastle’s scouts, failing to find the net after coming off the bench at half-time.
The report claimed that a number of La Liga clubs, including Sevilla, Valencia and Atletico Madrid are all tracking the teenager’s progress while Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven are also interested.
This perhaps explains why there were so many talent spotters flocking to watch an otherwise struggling Mechelen side in action. Newcastle, then, will have to move fast if they want to bring Bande to St James’ Park in January.
Henry Onyekuru was the talk of Europe last season after starring for KAS Eupen in Belgium, attracting attention from countless clubs before signing a contract with Everton.
And it looks as if a similar speculation storm is set to follow Bande around over the next few months.
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