Newcastle United have seen a bid accepted by Anderlecht for Swedish striker Isaac Kiese Thelin, according to HLN.
The Belgian newspaper claim on their website that the Magpies have tabled a bid of up to £5.3million (€6million) for the 26-year-old hitman, who is said to have fallen out of favour at the Jupiler Pro League side.
The 6’2″ giant (source: Transfermarkt), who has 24 caps for Sweden under his belt, was shipped out on loan to Anderlecht’s league rivals Waasland-Beveren last season, and finished the campaign with 19 goals and five assists, which has reportedly led to Newcastle and Locomotiv Moscow chasing his capture.
Good move for Newcastle?
The last striker to make the switch from Anderlecht to Newcastle was Aleksandar Mitrovic, and fans are still split over the Serbian even after he left earlier this summer.
Goals in the Belgian top flight is no guarantee that he will be a success in England, although he is obviously impressing those picking the Swedish side too with all his caps.
Very much a target man, Newcastle do lack a physical presence up top, and Thelin’s arrival would no doubt give them something they need.
For the proposed price of just over £5million, it shows that Rafael Benitez is once again scouring the market for bargains, but this one actually seems like a good move.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
While Newcastle might have had a bid accepted, so have Locomotiv Moscow, and the report says that the Russian side’s Champions League exploits could give them the advantage.
Of course, the Magpies are much more likely to offer a bigger wage, and so it could come down to what motivates Thelin in his career – money, or success.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10