A striker on Newcastle United’s radar is closing in on 40 goals for the season as the Premier League giants chase a centre-forward to boost Eddie Howe’s attacking ranks.
If you were wondering why a new striker appears to be one of the club’s priorities ahead of the summer transfer window – as detailed exclusively by HITC Football – the nature of Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final exit to Manchester City should provide a timely explanation.
Newcastle United only managed two shots on goal – and one on target – as Eddie Howe’s side limped out of the competition, their long, long wait for silverware set to bleed into another campaign.
The few chances they did create at the Etihad, Howe’s misfiring attack squandered. Alexander Isak missed the best of them. And while Callum Wilson usually can be relied upon to finish off opportunities, what he cannot be relied for is staying fit. The experienced frontman has missed 19 games this term due to a variety of fitness issues.
Newcastle United are watching Viktor Gyokeres
Viktor Gyokeres, then, would be welcomed on Tyneside with open arms. Perhaps creating a scene not too dissimilar to the one that greeted Alan Shearer following his North East homecoming. Gyokeres is, after all, one of the hottest number nines in European football at present, HITC having been informed that Newcastle are one of a number of clubs who have sent scouts to Lisbon to watch the powerhouse number nine who took his tally to a remarkable 36 goals in 39 games over the weekend.
“He’s improving every day,” Sporting coach Ruben Amorim beamed after the Swede hit a 34-minute hat-trick during Sporting’s 6-1 blistering of Boavista. “He has really special skills.”
The biggest obstacle standing in Newcastle’s way, meanwhile, is not so much the level of competition – AC Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal have been linked, amongst others – but the size of Gyokeres’ price-tag.
The former Coventry City talisman – who worked under former Newcastle chief Dan Ashworth briefly at Brighton – has an £85 million clause in his Sporting contract, and Amorim insists that offers below that mark will not be considered.
Now, Newcastle may have some of the richest backers in world football. But the Financial Fair Play issues which have impeded Howe during his second season at the helm surely make the prospect of Gyokeres leading the line in black-and-white next term rather fanciful.
‘Really special skills’
“Gyokeres is breaking records at Sporting and, honestly, I can say he is better than me,” Manuel Fernandes, a two-time Primeira Liga champion in the 1980s, tells A Bola.
“Since I left Sporting (37 years ago), I haven’t seen a striker as complete as him. There are equals, but better players? No.
“He is a complete player. He both scores and scores. This quality is crucial in a striker.”
“I hope he doesn’t leave Sporting anytime soon,” Fernandes adds of a man who turned down a number of mid-to-lower table Premier League clubs before swapping Coventry for Portugal. “It would be difficult for any club to activate his release clause in the winter market. If you have to leave, let it be to a big club, like Liverpool or Bayern Munich.
“But, for now, it is clear that he is doing well at Sporting. He is a serious and focused player.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
