According to The Mail, Newcastle United’s new owners want to make Watford’s Ismaila Sarr their first signing at St James’ Park.
The report states that, despite the fact we are yet to appoint a new manager or technical staff, such as a new sporting director, those in the Saudi-led consortium believe the 23-year-old would be an exciting addition in January.
However, it’s believed Watford are hugely reluctant to sell their star man mid-way through the season – especially to relegation rivals.
The Senegalese winger has impressed during his time in England, not only scoring four goals in nine games this season, but playing a key part in their promotion back to the top flight last term – where he bagged 13 goals and 10 assists in the Championship.
As a result, it’s said they are ‘unlikely’ to sell the former Rennes star, who they paid £27m to sign back in August 2019.
The Mail claim that they view Sarr as one of the top young talents in the Premier League, believing he can reach a similar level to ex-Aston Villa talisman Jack Grealish – who cost Man City a staggering £100m over the summer.
He’s a real talent with pace to burn and ever-improving final product, but it’s hard to see a relegation rival selling their best player to us half-way through their first season back in the top flight!
Still, this is the sort of player I’d love to see the new owners target. We won’t be able to bring in superstars to begin with, but targeting the best players from clubs in the bottom half could be a smart move, with Southampton’s Ward-Prowse and Brighton’s Lamptey two others who should be high up in our thoughts.
