Sunderland could have signed Red Star Belgrade’s Richmond Boakye on a free – but now Newcastle United want to lure him to the Premier League.
How Sunderland could do with a striker like Richmond Boakye right now.
Red Star Belgrade’s prolific hitman has tallied 45 goals for club and country in 2017 alone to spark interest from a growing number of Premier League sides.
If only Sunderland had not wasted their chance to sign Boakye when he was available on a free transfer. According to GhanaSoccerNet, Sunderland sent scouts to watch the Ghanaian international late last season but, after Serie B side Latina went bankrupt, he made his loan spell at Red Star permanent in the summer for absolutely nothing.
Boakye has since scored 15 goals in 18 games across 2017/18. Isn’t hindsight a horrible thing?
And just to make matters worse, ESPN claims that bitter North East rivals Newcastle United are the latest club to have expressed an interest in one of Europe’s most in-form goalscorers.
Rafa Benitez’s side are in the market for a new number nine as Joselu and Dwight Gayle are yet to prove that they are Premier League material while Aleksandar Mitrovic (below) is about as likely to slam an elbow into a defender’s face as he is to find the back of the net.
GhanaSoccerNet claimed back in October that Boakye could cost about £10 million and, while that fee is surely to have been inflated on the back of his stunning form and rising interest, the 24-year-old should still be within budget for Newcastle.
But you can count cash-strapped Championship strugglers Sunderland out.
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