Newcastle United scouts were reportedly in Portugal this week to watch Vangelis Pavlidis in action and could swoop for the Greek striker after missing out on Benjamin Sesko.
Sun Sport reports that the Magpies' scouting team were in attendance to watch Pavlidis' Benfica beat Nice 2-0 in a Champions League qualifier on Wednesday night. He wasn't on the scoresheet but is on the club's shortlist after missing out on many top forward targets.
Eddie Howe was keen to sign Sesko, as Alexander Isak is still pushing to leave and join Liverpool. The Tyneside outfit have already rejected an £110m bid from the Reds and value the Swede at £150m with three years on his contract.
Newcastle Eyeing Benfica's £87m striker Vangelis Pavlidis
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A potential deal for Pavlidis won't be cheap, as the 26-year-old has a release clause believed to be worth £87m. That would shatter Newcastle's current transfer record, which is the £63m fee they paid Real Sociedad for Isak in the summer of 2022.
Finding a suitable replacement for Isak has proven to be a massive issue for the transfer chiefs at St James' Park. They made two bids for Sesko worth up to £69.7m plus add-ons, a higher offer than Manchester United who have won the race for the Slovenian forward.
Pavlidis has impressed at Benfica and is a powerful frontman whose link-up play has earned praise at the Estadio da Luz. He managed an impressive tally of 19 goals and seven assists in 34 Liga Portugal games, and 30 goals across competitions last season.
The Greece international was also on Manchester United's radar before they beat the Magpies to Sesko. He has a proven goalscoring resume and could be the Isak replacement that Howe will desperately want to find before the window closes on September.
For now, Isak remains with the club, but he's training away from the first team as his future is still in doubt. The Sweden international is likely to depart if Howe secures a new number nine through the door, alongside Yoane Wissa, who GIVEMESPORT sources indicate has informed Brentford manager Thomas Frank that he wants to move to Tyneside.
Pavlidis isn't the only option, though, as Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson's availability has put the club on alert. The Senegalese striker is priced at a whopping £80m but is expected to leave Stamford Bridge after Joao Pedro and Liam Delap's arrivals.
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