Newcastle United have shown an interest in signing Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick – and he is now earning comparisons to Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski.
Newcastle have snapped up one striker this month by bringing in Chris Wood from Burnley.
Eddie Howe still wants another option though, and Schick has been linked with a big-money move to Tyneside.
Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Newcastle were hoping to sign Schick, but faced a huge £50million price tag.
That was always unlikely in the January window, but maybe Newcastle will hold out hope for a summer deal.
Newcastle have shown an interest in a couple of other Leverkusen players in Mitchel Bakker and Moussa Diaby, but Schick is the prized asset.
Schick, 26, has smashed 18 goals in just 17 league games this season, ending three assists to his tally too.
The Czech striker finally seems to be fulfilling the potential he showed at Sampdoria during the 2016-17 campaign.
Schick scored a beautiful back heel against Augsburg over the weekend, helping Leverkusen to a huge 5-1 win.
That goal has now resulted in huge praise coming Schick’s way, with Leverkusen legend Rudi Voller raving about him.
Leverkusen’s managing director Voller has told Kicker that he thinks Schick is a ‘world class’ striker and just as good as Lewandowski and Haaland.
Those two strikers get much more global hype than Schick, but Voller thinks there is little between them.
Voller praised Schick’s power, speed and left foot, but thinks where he really excels over Haaland and Lewandowski is in the air.
“Whether Patrik Schick is world class like Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland? You only have to look at the top scorers in the Bundesliga: He’s between the two,” said Voller. “And we know Patrik’s standing abroad. Because one thing is clear: if he If we had had such a quota in Leipzig or Rome, we would never have gotten him in 2020.”
“He scored as many goals as Cristiano Ronaldo at the European Championship. Patrik belongs in the world class category. He has yet to confirm it – but he will. We are glad that we were so persistent with him. We were already interested in him before.”
“I can still remember the pictures when he was at AS Roma: He’s now physically much more robust with us. That was important to him. He just has a lot of qualities: his header game – that’s where he’s the best of the three. His speed, his left foot is outstanding. Patrik is a strong center forward who also holds the balls,” he added.
This is all huge praise for Schick, and Newcastle will no doubt dream of having him leading their line in the future.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
