Sporting Lisbon striker Bas Dost would cost Newcastle United an eye-watering sum.
If Newcastle United supporters were beginning to question the club’s ambition after a sluggish start to the transfer window, the events of the last few days might have put their mind at rest.
At last, the protracted signing of Eibar defender Florian Lejeune is complete, the classy Frenchman posing in black and white in the corridors of St James’ Park.
Bas Dost is a 15 time Dutch international but only has one goal for Oranje
On the bare statistics alone, you can see why The Magpies would be keen. Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez is understood to be keen on adding fresh blood to his strikeforce with doubts surrounding the future of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Daryl Murphy.
And Dost is one of the most lethal forwards in Europe, netting a scarcely believable 34 goals in 30 Primera Liga starts in a remarkable debut season for Sporting. A true penalty box poacher, who netted a combined 81 goals in 151 games for Heerenveen and Wolfsburg, the Dutchman even plundered four hat-tricks between March and May.
Michael who?
This is not the first time the rangy Dost has been linked with Newcastle. According to The Mirror, The Magpies were weighing up a £9 million bid in the summer of 2015 after enjoying an impressive purple patch in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg.
These days, thanks to a scoring record that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be proud of, The Magpies would have to double the club-record fee they paid Real Madrid for Michael Owen 12 years ago.
Yet, Dost is hardly the typical Newcastle signing. Owner Mike Ashley is renowned for a fanatical desire to target players under the age of 26 with a large potential re-sale value but, as Benitez will have told him, you have to speculate to accumulate.
Dost may not make Newcastle a profit but he could keep them in the Premier League.
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