Newcastle United failed to land Nicolai Jorgensen in January.
Newcastle United ended the transfer window with three new signings, as Martin Dubravka, Kenedy and Islam Slimani arrived on loan from Sparta Prague, Chelsea and Leicester City respectively.
The Magpies needed reinforcements and did eventually managed to make signings, but they did miss out on one of Rafael Benitez’s top targets in Nicolai Jorgensen.
The Danish international striker, 27, was targeted by Benitez after hitting 21 league goals last season and another nine this term, with the Magpies launching bids for him late in the January transfer window.
However, as reported by Sky Sports, Newcastle failed with a £15million offer for Jorgensen, and it remains to be seen whether the Magpies return for the Feyenoord star this summer.
Newcastle may well be keeping tabs on Jorgensen between now and the end of the season, and if they are watching Feyenoord closely, then midfielder Tonny Vilhena must be a player on Benitez’s radar too.
The Dutch midfielder, 23, has enjoyed a superb campaign this season, scoring seven times from midfield in just 24 league games, his highest goal return in a league season yet, whilst also adding two assists.
Vilhena extended his contract with Feyenoord until 2020 last summer, and many expect him to move on this summer after such an impressive campaign, and given the potential he still has, he may even be a better target than Jorgensen.
Jonjo Shelvey and Mikel Merino have played well in patches this season, but neither of them are particularly dangerous going forward from midfield, whereas Vilhena would hand Benitez a goalscoring option from the middle of the park.
Vilhena’s ability to break forward and get into the box is impressive, and he may even be able to step forward into a No. 10 role at Newcastle, which has been a problem position for Benitez – and if Newcastle do look to Jorgensen again, they must consider teammate Vilhena too.
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