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Newcastle United are keen to add a promising international winger to their ranks this January
Newcastle United are believed to be leading the charge to sign highly-rated Belgian winger Johan Bakayoko in the January transfer window. The Magpies are currently in desperate need of attacking reinforcements to reinvigorate their hopes of qualifying for Europe after an inconsistent start to the season.
“I think freshness is important in a squad - I won’t sit here and deny that,” manager Eddie Howe said in a recent interview with The Guardian.The Newcastle boss added: “A new dynamic and a new team always had to form every season. Sometimes, the same squad can produce a staleness and a negative product. So I think we’re aware of that. But it’s about what we’re able to do rather than ‘I want’. ‘I want’ is clear. We haven’t had a huge turnover of players and that’s a slight concern.”
Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell will be tasked with rectifying Howe’s concerns during the winter window as he looks to make amends for a subdued summer of activity which saw the club miss out on a number of clear targets including Marc Guehi and Anthony Elanga. The Magpies have strengthened a number of departments since the PIF takeover but one position in particular where the team has had a low turnover is the right wing position.
As it stands, Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy are Newcastle’s only two right-sided players and they have been with the club since before the takeover. The pair are both struggling for form and confidence and at this point in time it is seen as a huge weakness in Newcastle’s team, with both Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes preferring to play on the left-hand side.
Bakayoko, who plays his football with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven has been identified as the perfect player to fill that void by Newcastle and is high on Mitchell’s ‘list of priorities’, according to reports from Football Insider.
The 21-year-old, who has been capped 18 times for Belgium at international level, is renowned for his blistering speed, dribbling skills and ability to create chances for his team-mates. The winger has a record of 27 goals and 22 assists from 104 career matches and was notably part of a PSV team that ran away with the Eredvisie title by scoring an incredible 111 goals in 34 matches.
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Bakayoko’s PSV team have already scored 50 goals in their opening 14 league games this term and the youngster is often at the centre of many of his team’s attacks with six goals and two assists across all competitions this term. The Belgian primarily plays on the right side of attack and is reportedly available for a fee of around £35m, according to Football Insider.
He is understood to be well within Newcastle’s price range, but is also thought to be a potential target for Liverpool as they make contingency plans for Mohamed Salah’s potential exit in the summer.
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