Newcastle have reportedly placed a bid for Besiktas forward Cenk Tosun, with only hours remaining in the transfer window – according to reports from Turkish outlet Milliyet.
Tosun joined Besiktas in 2014 and performed impressively for the Turkish giants last season, scoring an 20 goals in the league.
As a result, Tosun is attracting the interest from England during the final hours of the summer transfer window and the duo of Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are said to be keen on signing the striker.
It is believed that Newcastle will have to make a bid of around £12 million for the target man to meet Besiktas’ valuation but the Magpies are offering only £8 million for the Turkish international.
While Newcastle may have managed to get the price down under normal circumstances, they will struggle to do so today as there is very little time remaining in the window and Palace are said to be ready to match Tosun’s price tag.
Magpies boss Rafa Benitez has been desperate to bring in new signings to Newcastle following their promotion back from the Championships but has struggled to do so sufficiently till now due to lack of funds provided by the club hierarchy as well as because of a failure to shift fringe players out of the team.
It now remains to be seen if Newcastle do indeed manage to strengthen their attack with the signing of Tosun.
The forwards position seemed secure heading into the season, with the likes of Ayoze Perez, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dwight Gayle and Joselu present at the club.
However with Gayle reportedly close to moving to Fulham, Newcastle will need a new forward and Tosun would surely strengthen the department.