Newcastle United were quoted around £50million for Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick in January – but he could now cost almost £20million more.
It was no great secret that Newcastle wanted to sign a new striker during the January transfer window.
With Callum Wilson out injured, Newcastle simply had to find another goalscorer from somewhere.
In the end, Newcastle swooped to sign Chris Wood from Burnley but they considered moves for a while host of other strikers too.
Sky Sports reported that Newcastle were keen on signing Leverkusen goal machine Schick.
However, the Bundesliga side demanded £50million for Schick and Newcastle decided to look elsewhere.
It now seems like that £50million demand may have actually been relatively cheap for Schick.
That’s because Bild now claim that Schick is now valued at around €80million (£67million) because he has no exit clause.
Leverkusen paid £22.5million to sign Schick from Roma in 2020 and are now seeking a hefty profit.
If Newcastle weren’t keen at £50million, you have to imagine they won’t be going back in for Schick at almost £70million.
You have to say that Leverkusen are within their rights to demand an enormous price for the Czech striker.
Schick has racked up a ridiculous 21 goals in just 24 Bundesliga games this season, becoming one of the most dangerous strikers in Europe.
Schick, 26, is likely to be a man in demand this summer and has been hailed as an ‘absolute dream’ by Julian Nagelsmann.
That may well mean that Nagelsmann looks to bring Schick to Bayern Munich – especially with Robert Lewandowski’s future unclear.
Nagelsmann worked with Schick at RB Leipzig and may fancy a reunion.
This price tag surely takes Newcastle out of the race though, with PIF looking for considered signings to start this Newcastle project rather than enormous purchases.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
