Newcastle United have concrete interest in Watford’s Troy Deeney, according to the Daily Mail, but the Magpies should really be considering who the Hornets are trying to replace Deeney with instead.
The Daily Mail report that Watford are willing to listen to offers for Deeney but want £20million as they line up to replace him with Bournemouth’s Benik Afobe.
The price-tag is set to cause the Magpies concerns along with Deeney being on £70,000-a-week and potentially not favouring a huge cut in his wages.
This is why Newcastle United need to end their interest in Deeney now, and look at Afobe who Watford would rather have at their club.
Afobe is a much more interesting prospect for the Magpies instead of Deeney despite scoring less goals this season.
The Bournemouth striker is yet to score a goal in his 16 league appearances, though most have been made from the bench, where as Deeney has scored two in 13 league outings so far.
The reason why Afobe is still a better option is due to his age.
Afobe is only 24-years-old and is still improving all the time, and he is a notable five years younger than Deeney.
Also if the striker was to be given regular starts, which he does not receive at Bournemouth, the goals would follow.
The striker has all the attributes to lead the line for the Magpies, given his strength, pace and previous goalscoring record.
Another reason why Afobe is a better option for Newcastle United, is in regards to his potential price.
While the Daily Mail report that Eddie Howe wouldn’t be too keen to sell Afobe, with the striker not starting games the Magpies could easily tempt the club with an offer.
Bournemouth would have to at least receive close to what they paid for the striker in January 2016, which was roughly around the £10million mark to consider selling him.
However, it’s certain to be less than £20million, and while Afobe’s fee will still stretch Newcastle United’s budget, if they’re considering chasing £20million Deeney then they can afford to look at Afobe.
It will be catastrophic for the Magpies to fail to sign a striker in January given the fact they’ve only scored 20 goals in 22 league games, which has been one of the reasons they find themselves in a relegation battle.
So even though they’re desperate, Newcastle United still need to consider an option that will fire them beyond this season, with Afobe surely being a long-term solution rather than an expensive quick fix like Deeney.
This is why the Magpies must at the very least end their chase of Deeney and checkout Bournemouth’s Afobe in January.