Newcastle United are in the market for a striker this summer, with increased squad depth vital to improve our hopes of competing in the league, Europe and both domestic cup competitions next season.
The club tried to bring in Liam Delap earlier this month, but his decision to join Chelsea instead means our search for a potential Callum Wilson replacement continues.
Versatile options in Joao Pedro and Arnaud Kalimuendo have been linked, although a familiar name is doing the rounds again following his most prolific season yet since leaving the Premier League.
According to reports in Italy, Newcastle are keen to sign Fiorentina striker Moise Keane following a superb season in Serie A – but they won’t meet his current release clause.
This comes from Calciomercato, who state that Newcastle are ‘very interested’ in the Italian international along with newly crowned Champions Napoli.
However, they indicate that neither club are willing to pay the £43m release clause in his contract, suggesting a lower fee would need to be negotiated.
Kean scored 19 goals in 32 Serie A games last term, also netting three in nine Europa Conference League matches on Fiorentina’s run to the semi-finals.
Kean has just got himself back in the Italy set up and has enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 25 goals in all competitions over 2024/25.
He may well fancy another crack at Premier League football after a failed spell with Everton earlier in his career, but the issue facing Newcastle is attracting a quality player who knows Alexander Isak will be standing in their way.
The Swede’s presence is a huge positive in many ways, but he will naturally block a back-up striker’s route to game time in Eddie Howe’s 4-3-3 system.
We need a capable Callum Wilson replacement to improve our squad and many will argue that there is still plenty of game time to be had as we prepare to compete on four fronts next season. However, as we saw with Liam Delap, it isn’t easy to attract a £30m+ forward when starts can’t be guaranteed.