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Newcastle United hold talks with club about their £50m strike pair – Report

4 years ago
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We are already at day 15 of the 2020 summer transfer window and no visible signs of Newcastle United spending any money.

Only a week to go until the NUFC squad are back for pre-season and 33 days to go until the Premier League kicks off again.

Yet again, Mike Ashley not prepared to let Newcastle United move fast in the transfer market.

Whether they move much, if at all, in this window beyond loans and frees remains to be seen.

Last week the journalist closest to Steve Bruce, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, saying that Mike Ashley had allowed a budget of £30m for new players to help the NUFC Head Coach, stating that his top two targets are striker Josh King and midfielder David Brooks.

Edwards said that the 28 year old striker is being valued at around £20m, whilst attacking midfielder / winger 23 year old Brooks, was suggested to be possibly available at an unrealistic £11m. Unrealistic because as a 21 year old in his first Premier League season, David Brooks scored seven PL goals and got five assists from 29 starts.

An update on Monday morning from The Northern Echo has reported that Newcastle United have now held talks with Bournemouth about potential transfer business.

However, the newspaper says that the discussions have been about Newcastle possibly taking either Josh King or Callum Wilson.

Both strikers are 28 but the Northern Echo say that Callum Wilson would be more costly at around £30m.

As for their goal profiles these past five seasons, not a lot to divide them, especially when you take into account King has often played further out wide when both have been in the team, to allow Callum Wilson to play through the middle.

In his five seasons in the Premier League, King has scored 6, 16, 8, 12 and 6, compared to Wilson’s 5, 6, 8, 14 and 8.

Josh King scoring 48 goals in 140 PL starts (plus 21 sub appearances) for Bournemouth and averaging a goal every 295 minutes, so just a little more than one every three games worth on average.

Callum Wilson with 41 goals in 109 PL starts (plus 17 sub appearances), averaging a goal every 233 minutes, just over one every two and a half games worth on average.

Josh King has only one  year left on his contract and Callum Wilson has three.

However, whilst their goalscoring  exploits aren’t startling, they have been with a team that has usually been towards the bottom and in today’s market anybody likely to score goals, doesn’t come cheap.

The Northern Echo are claiming Mike Ashley is willing to allow a transfer spend of around £35m but I am dubious it will even be anywhere near that. However, going into next season with no real credible goals or creativity added, is inviting disaster.

Last season, the pair may have only scored eight (Wilson) and six (King) goals as Bournemouth were relegated but compared to Carroll, Muto and Joelinton with two between them, they were prolific. Gayle scored four goals late in the season but still doesn’t convince many Newcastle fans that he is a first choice PL striker.

Personally, I think Newcastle needed to be ruthless this summer and I would have cleared out Carroll, Muto and Joelinton, kept Gayle and looked to add two new strikers.

Whether Mike Ashley allows Newcastle to buy even one remains to be seen and I wouldn’t be surprised to see NUFC late in the market well after the season has kicked off, desperately trying to get a striker in on loan.

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