This time last week, after our £45m bid for Anthony Elanga was turned down, Sky Sports’ Keith Downie named three options Newcastle will explore if a compromise can’t be reached with Nottingham Forest.
That trio was Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi, Johan Bakayoko of PSV, and West Ham star Mohammed Kudus, suggesting we have others in mind should the Swedish international prove too expensive.
As things stand, there seems to be hope of Newcastle striking a deal for Elanga, despite rival interest from Aston Villa. However, it looks like one of the three ‘plan B’ options is already attracting interest from two of our ‘big six’ rivals.
Sky Sports are reporting that Newcastle have been joined by Chelsea and Spurs in the race to sign Mohammed Kudus.
They report that Spurs are exploring a deal for the Ghanaian international as a potential alternative to Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo and Eberechi Eze.
However, Sky also report that Kudus is also on Newcastle’s list of targets, while Chelsea remain keen despite securing big-money moves for Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens this week.
West Ham are looking to cash in on the 24-year-old to free up funds for their own summer spending.
If a deal for Elanga is parked due to Forest’s demands, it may be time for Newcastle to avoid the Premier League market entirely and explore our options abroad.
Battling two ‘big six’ rivals and the ‘London pull’ may lead to more time wasted if we turn to Kudus, meaning Bakayoko and Adeyemi could soon come into the picture if we don’t make progress regarding Elanga.
They aren’t the only European options, however, with Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche and Sporting Lisbon’s Francisco Trincao thought to be players we have also watched over the past season.