The Hugo Ekitike saga continues to rumble on, with rumours linking him with a move to PSG. Fortunately, we no longer have to deal with it, as the club have seemingly moved on.
There will be lists of possible alternatives being drawn up at the moment. Armando Broja and Amine Gouiri have been touted in the media, but who we end up with remains to be seen.
Below, we list four other attacking players that should be on our radar for this spot in our squad.
Wilfried Gnonto – Zurich
There have been plenty of rumours linking us to high potential players across Europe. Wilfried Gnonto is a player that should be on our radar. He is already a full Italian international at the age of 18 and he has scored for the Azzurri in his four caps.
Currently, he is on the books at Swiss Super League club Zurich, which means he should be attainable. Clubs in smaller European leagues are usually easier to deal with, due to the lower revenue streams. Gnonto has been linked with the likes of Hoffenheim and Feyenoord already this summer.
Last season, he was a regular in the Zurich team and he scored ten goals across all competitions. Gnonto is capable of playing across the forward line. This versatility means he would be a valuable squad player to have. He wouldn’t need to be registered, which is a positive due to our bloated squad.
His biggest asset is his pace. Coupled with his dribbling ability, it makes him very difficult to defend against, as he can go either way at speed. It would be surprising if Gnonto wasn’t at least discussed in the boardroom at St James’ Park, as he ticks a lot of boxes.
Myron Boadu – AS Monaco
There have been a lot of links to players in Ligue 1 and Boadu is another we should be looking at. He is a player that could come onto the radar at a later date, but he would be an excellent signing this summer.
Last summer, he moved to the Ligue 1 club for around £15 million. Monaco would want a healthy profit on that, despite some struggles to adapt to French football. At the age of 21, he has a lot of first team experience in the Eredivisie and Ligue 1.
In his final two seasons in the Eredivisie, he scored 29 goals and showed his ability in European competition. During his first season in France, he scored just six across all competitions, but there were some positive signs in his performances.
Boadu was given a rotational role, which restricted his minutes. Despite this, he carried a big threat with an average of 0.52 non-penalty expected goals (npxG) per ninety minutes. This underlines his quality in the final third. He is also capable off playing wide, which makes him appeal.
Arnaud Kalimuendo – PSG
Another talented young forward in Ligue 1 is Arnaud Kalimuendo. Last season, he played for Lens on loan from PSG. The difficulty that he will have breaking into the PSG team means that a move away could appeal. At the age of 20, he is raw, but 12 goals in Ligue 1 shows his ability.
There have been tentative links to Kalimuendo, which suggests he is on the club’s radar. That won’t come as a surprise, as we see value in the French market.
A pass completion of 82.6% is high for an attacking player, showing that he is reliable in possession. He also receives a lot of progressive passes, with an average of 9.48 per ninety minutes. This puts him in the 89th percentile among forwards. These are his two elite statistics, which suggests that there is a rawness to his game.
Kalimuendo wouldn’t be expected to start to begin with, so his rawness isn’t a big issue. He can score goals and he is dangerous when carrying the ball.
Youssoufa Moukoko – Borussia Dortmund
This would be a serious coup, as Moukoko is regarded as a future world class striker. He is only 17 and he has already played more than 30 matches for the Dortmund first team. Moukoko has scored five goals in the Bundesliga in his short career.
Dortmund won’t want to lose him, but he only has a year left on his contract. That leaves them at risk of losing the future star, The signings of Karim Adeyemi and Sebastien Haller may limit his first team chances, even after the departure of Erling Haaland.
As a player, Moukoko has been an elite scorer throughout his youth career and that is why he was fast tracked to the Dortmund first team. He is intelligent beyond his years in the way he takes up great positions in the final third. The 17-year-old’s physical traits mean that he doesn’t look out of place in senior football.
Moukoko might be beyond us at the moment, given his high ceiling. However, his contract situation should be explored. He would be an incredible addition to our squad.
Also Joshua Zirkzee. Spent the season on loan from Bayern Munich at Anderlech
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