According to The Telegraph, Newcastle still have up to £50m – plus money raised from player sales – left to spend on new signings this summer.
This comes from North-East reporter Luke Edwards, who recently reported that £100m has been made available by the club’s new owners – a slight increase on the amount he initially expected to be sanctioned.
With £52m already spent on Matt Targett (£12m), Nick Pope (£10m) and imminent arrival Sven Botman (£30m), The Telegraph believe the remaining £50m will now be spent further up the pitch, with the club set to turn their attention to the signing of a right winger and a striker.
Hugo Ekitike appears to be the top target in attack, but that move is ‘continuing to stall’, seeing the likes of Armando Broja (Chelsea) and Amine Gouiri (OGC Nice) linked in recent days as potential alternatives to the 20-year-old Frenchman.
As for the ‘wide forward’ we’re looking to bring in, Moussa Diaby has been heavily linked, yet it seems Bayer Leverkusen are demanding in excess of £50m for the 22-year-old who bagged 17 goals and 14 assists in all competitions last season.
If Diaby proves too expensive, it’ll be interesting to see who emerges, with Watford’s Ismaila Sarr and Borussia Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard mentioned by some as back-up options.
Last but not least, Luke Edwards insists that our remaining budget could be boosted by player sales, however the club are struggling to move on the likes of Dwight Gayle, Jeff Hendrick, Matt Ritchie and Karl Darlow – who have only received loan offers from the Championship so far. there has only been interest in taking them on loan from Championship clubs.
