Ben Jacobs has claimed on the NUFC Matters YouTube channel that Newcastle United have enquired about Victor Osimhen.
It appeared quite clear that Newcastle were in need of a big-name striker that can guarantee goals in the Premier League after Chris Wood failed to hit the ground running with just two goals in 17 appearances. However, The Athletic has claimed that Callum Wilson’s late-season form has made things more complicated.
Wilson has never been able to remain injury-free during his time on Tyneside, which could mean PIF move for a striker this summer, but with the forward now moving his family up to the north-east, this could see him spending more time recovering and reducing the risk of an injury, although that still hasn’t stopped talk of a new striker arriving.
Meanwhile, Jacobs has claimed that Newcastle have enquired about Osimhen to his agent over a potential move this summer.
He said: “It’s been intimated to me by Napoli that if Arsenal don’t get Gabriel Jesus, that Osimhen will be their backup name, and Newcastle and Tottenham are the other two Premier League clubs that I’ve heard are interested.
Will Newcastle manage to sign Osimhen?
Yes!
No!
“Newcastle have only made an enquiry to the agent to date – they’ve not gone to Napoli, they’ve not started any kind of advanced talks. But this may progress now Dan Ashworth is fully in situ, and I think that even though everyone wants Ekitike – and that clearly is Newcastle’s number one – I think that Osimhen makes a massive amount of sense because of his age, because of his talent.
“And then the key question really is, what do you have to pay Napoli in order to make this transfer a reality? And that’s where the negotiations might stumble.
“I would say he’s a £45-50m player as a minimum, and that probably means that Napoli are wanting £60-65m, even £70m if they’re even to consider selling, and that’s when I think Newcastle United would walk away from the deal.”
TIF Thoughts on interest in Osimhen…
The Nigeria international, who is actually supposedly valued at €110m (£95m), enjoyed a stellar season for Napoli in Serie A, managing to register 19 goal involvements and end up as the league’s eighth-top scorer, with 18 goals in all competitions. And given the fact he’s hit double figures in each of the last four league campaigns, it’s no surprise the Magpies are interested.
However, as Jacobs said, the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the striker, and with those teams having European football to offer and more likely to be winning silverware in the near future, it could be a very difficult sell for Eddie Howe, Dan Ashworth and PIF to get Osimhen to Tyneside.