Newcastle United are determined to add another striker to their ranks this summer after the £124 million failed experiment of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.
While it’s highly unlikely that the Magpies will take drastic action over Woltemade and Wissa, they likely wouldn’t be closed off to a potential sale either, if the money is right.
Regardless of what happens with that duo, Newcastle will be looking to add an extra striker option in the summer to give Eddie Howe more options to change the direction of games when needed.
Several players are already thought to be on the list, one of which is Sporting CP’s Luis Suarez, who was first linked with Newcastle at the start of March.
The Colombian forward is also a target for Liverpool, and a new report coming out of Correio da Manhã claims the two Premier League sides are ready to fight ‘tooth and nail’ over the 28-year-old.
Suarez has an astonishing 24 goals in 25 Liga Portugal games this season, with five assists added for good measure. In all competitions, he has 33 goals in 42 games with seven assists. Unbelievable.
Sporting have Suarez tied into a contract until 2030 with a €80 million (£69 million) release clause, so they’re in a good position to earn themselves a decent payday.
With goal-scoring figures like his, you may ask is it even worth messing around trying to negotiate when the release clause is right there? Especially if Liverpool are coming to the table.
However, Suarez is 28, so again, this is probably out of Ross Wilson’s ideal scope, and we really should have learned a lesson from overpaying for those nearing their 30s after last summer. We’re lookin at you, Yoane Wissa!
There’s just something about this one that appeals, though. He’s clearly an in-form goal scorer who has also impressed in the Champions League this season, but there’s the added spice of beating Liverpool to a signing that would make it even better, providing reports in Portugal carry some truth.
We would still be pretty cautious: just because he can bang in goals for fun in Portugal doesn’t mean it’ll translate to the Premier League. This could be one to keep an eye on, though.