Newcastle United have been heavily linked with a move for a striker but they have failed to deliver on that front in the January window.
It emerged last week that the Championship strugglers were looking to land the Northern Irishman’s signature. However, following discussions over the desired transfer fee, Chris Coleman’s side have decided to pull out.
Lafferty has enjoyed a successful first half of the season in Edinburgh and is the club’s top scorer so far with 11. The former Rangers ace played a huge role in Hearts’ 4-0 downing of Celtic at Tynecastle last month, which ended the Hoops’ domestic unbeaten run of 69 games.
With Sunderland’s fierce rivals Newcastle continuing their month-long striker search, Magpies boss Rafa Benitez should consider making a late bid for the Hearts front man.
Benitez and Newcastle have been linked with a whole host of different strikers and most recently missed out on a loan deal for Liverpool and England’s Daniel Sturridge who completed his move to West Bromwich Albion earlier today, as reported by the BBC.
Lafferty may not be same calibre of striker that Newcastle have been linked with in recent weeks, but with time running out in this window, the 6ft 4in forward would still bolster the attacking options at St James’ Park.
With 20 goals in 67 appearances for his country, Lafferty is a well established international striker. Not only would he bring scoring form to the table, but his large frame would provide a solid focal point for the Newcastle attack, bringing players such as Christian Atsu, Kenedy and Dwight Gayle into the game.
With nearly 100 career club goals to date, the Hearts striker would be very much affordable for Newcastle and provide a far cheaper alternative to the strikers they have been linked with.
With only a day left in the window, Benitez must act fast if he intends to finally land the forward he has been after since New Years Day.
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