Are Newcastle taking a risk in Jorgensen pursuit?

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Newcastle United are desperate to bring in a striker.

Newcastle United are hoping to make Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen their second signing of the January window but will have to increase their offer.

According to Sky Sports, Rafael Benitez has seen a bid rejected by the Dutch Champions who are looking for at least £20m for their main hit-man but he may not be the obvious solution to their problems.

Jorgensen has scored 34 times in 60 matches for Feyenoord since joining in 2016. His goals helped Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s team to the Eredivisie title last season.

The Danish International has hit another spell of good form having netted eight goals in his last 10 appearances, so there is no doubt that he is a consistent and prolific goal-scorer.

Newcastle have used the Dutch market in the past but it has not always proved successful. In recent years they have signed the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Siem De Jong and Vurnon Anita from the Eredivisie. Wijnaldum scored 11 times but was part of a team that got relegated while Anita and De Jong struggled to make an impact on Tyneside.

They were all playing for title challenging clubs in Holland and they are not the first to be successful in the Eredivisie and then struggle in the Premier League.

Davy Klaassen captained Ajax to the Europa League final, scoring 20 goals in all competitions last season, but he has been frozen out at Everton after poor form. Memphis Depay lasted just 18 months at Manchester United as he failed to fulfil his potential, while Jozy Altidore, Afonso Alves, Vincent Janssen and Mateja Kezman are just a handful of Eredivisie exports to have struggled in the Premier League.

£20million is a lot of money for Newcastle given their current financial predicament under Mike Ashley. It is a signing they cannot afford to get wrong and there will be a lot of pressure on him to score goals and help Newcastle stay up, so Rafa Benitez may want to consider spending that money on a proven Premier League striker instead.