Newcastle United have had a torrid time in the transfer market this summer, missing out on a number of major targets, and many have gone to other Premier League clubs.
Their latest transfer failure, Benjamin Sesko, who was unveiled this weekend as the newest Manchester United player. Eddie Howe has received some wins, however, with the signings of Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale, and looks to be on the cusp of another big signing with AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw.
The missed transfers that will sting the most for Newcastle will be Ekitike and Sesko, as their main striker, Alexander Isak, wants to move to Liverpool, and either of those two players could have suited as his replacements. The club is still on the hunt for a new striker to come in before Isak becomes too much of a problem, or they miss out on the massive cash injection that Liverpool are offering.
Newcastle turn to other targets after Samu approach
On his YouTube channel, Craig Hope of The Daily Mail provided several updates on Newcastle’s search for a striker. Hope believes that Newcastle are “planning for the eventuality of Alexander Isak going” and he covered updates on some of his potential replacements.
Newcastle’s hunt for a striker has recently led them to explore the idea of the young Porto striker “Samu” Omorodion Aghehowa. The 21-year-old registered 21 league goal involvements last season, and Porto value him at “around £80 million”, says Hope
Porto’s asking price is deemed too high for Newcastle, and so they are “not actively pursuing” Samu at present despite making a recent approach.
Their current first choice target is instead Brentford’s Yoane Wissa. Hope also mentioned that if Dango Ouattara moves from Bournemouth to Brentford, then “Wissa will come to Newcastle” and that he has “absolutely no doubt about that”.
If, however, the Wissa deal doesn’t come to fruition, then “a Larsen, a Jackson, a Watkins, a Muniz or another name we haven’t heard of” will be the next striker target.
Lots of moving pieces for Newcastle
Newcastle’s hunt for a striker doesn’t exist in a vacuum and is unequivocally dependent on a number of other factors. The first factor is that without the desire from both Liverpool and Isak for the two parties to unite, there would not be as much pressure to sign a high-profile striker this summer. With Callum Wilson moving on a free transfer to West Ham, they would likely have had to bring in someone, but not necessarily someone who could compete with Isak’s quality.
The second factor is how many of their target’s clubs are in similar predicaments. Brentford seem to be accepting at this point that Wissa may leave this summer; however, like Newcastle with Isak, they want his replacement lined up beforehand so that they don’t leave themselves exposed.
Newcastle faces the same problem with their pursuit of Ollie Watkins as Villa will likely want to reinforce their attack before letting their main striker go, especially since Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio’s loan spells were not made permanent.
Unless these club issues are resolved, it will become more and more likely that the striker Newcastle signs will be this “name we haven’t heard of”.
