Two people could have very different reactions if Newcastle United were to sign Victor Osimhen in the summer transfer window.
According to journalist Paolo Bargiggia (via Sport Witness), Newcastle United made a pretty big run at signing the Nigerian in January, only for his current club Napoli to turn the offer down.
Napoli bought Osimhen from Lille in the summer of 2020 for an initial €70m (£59m).
Although, Bargiggia hinted that there might be a chance for them to grab him in the summer if the right offer comes along as he noted: “My feeling is that if important clubs like Real Madrid show up, it will be hard to keep the player and match certain offers.”
Given Newcastle’s vast wealth, they may well be able to match any offer that comes in for Osimhen, and speaking to GiveMeSport, TalkSport reporter Alex Crook has claimed that there may well be some interest in him from Newcastle United this summer.
But could Osimhen arriving at St. James’ Park mean for the Tyneside club?
The final nail in the coffin?
Is Dwight Gayle good enough to play for Newcastle in the PL?
Yes
No
If Newcastle do indeed sign Osimhen in the summer, it could spell the end of Dwight Gayle’s time at the club.
The 32-year-old has struggled for game time this season, only starting once – and that was in the League Cup. But despite not being much of a help for them this year, he still managed to get his way into the 25-man squad for the second part of the season, primarily because they don’t have a lot of options up top to choose from.
However, you feel that if they are to bring in another forward, based on his usage, or lack thereof, Gayle would be the one to make way and that the club would look to move him on at the earliest opportunity.
A chance at a major upgrade for the boss?
But whilst one man might be despondent, it should leave Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe delighted.
Whilst he does have two players in Callum Wilson and Chris Wood who are both very capable at Premier League level, with 59 and 50 goals to their names in the top flight respectively, you’d imagine that bringing in Osimhen, who has experience in the Europa League and Champions League, as well as internationally for Nigeria, would be a huge step up in terms of who Howe has to work with.
And that would give him a boost in terms of his playing staff for next season – provided they stay up – where he’ll be hoping to move away from the bottom of the table and closer to the top as the club look to make good on their ambitious targets for the future.
In other news: ‘I haven’t had official confirmation on that, but…’ – Journo drops interesting NUFC DOF claim