With the start of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign just over one month away, Newcastle United are working toward improving their squad ahead of challenging for a top-four finish once again, having enjoyed a taste of the Champions League last season.
Seventh-placed Newcastle were decimated by injuries last season but still gave a good account of themselves, only missing out on European qualification after Manchester United – who finished eighth – won the FA Cup.
Several signings have been made already on Tyneside but there is a sense that Eddie Howe is hoping to sign a striker, with Callum Wilson being transfer-listed and attracting interest from divisional rivals West Ham United.
Newcastle transfer news
According to Football Transfers – as reported earlier this week – Howe is actively seeking to bolster his attacking ranks and has already made an enquiry to sign Jonathan David from LOSC Lille.
The Canada international is allowed to leave the Ligue 1 club this summer given that he’s entering the final year of his contract, with separate reports suggesting that he could be available for a cut-price £20m fee.
What Jonathan David would bring to Newcastle
Newcastle already boast a high-class forward in Alexander Isak but adding another talented striker to the fold could pay dividends, and given that David is only 24, he has many years of prolific service within him.
In fact, despite Isak coming out on top with regard to league form last season – as shown below – it was David who actually performed better across all competitions, netting 26 times while Isak scored on 25 occasions for the Magpies.
As you can see, David and Isak are quite alike, and while some might feel that a more striking variation in options at centre-forward options could provide Howe’s outfit with an additional dimension, the Swede’s skillset is tried and tested and David could dovetail right into the project.
Given that Isak has enjoyed an impressive attacking bond with Anthony Gordon – the left winger won the club’s Player of the Year award – David could find that he too enjoys an almighty partnership with the coveted England international
Gordon scored 12 goals and added 11 assists across all competitions last term, praised for his “unbelievable” efforts by Bruno Guimaraes, and his fleet-footed trickery could make all the difference for David as he strives to establish his shooting skills on English shores.
David, in turn, could add to the crispness and fluency, ranking among the top 3% of centre-forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, as per FBref.
The Canada international, who has been lauded for his “mind-blowing” attacking talent by scout Jacek Kulig, would ease the goalscoring burden on Isak’s shoulders and then some, but, furthermore, it could provide Gordon with another focal point to build an on-field rapport with and wreak havoc over the coming months and years.
Newcastle should move to seal the deal. For a ballpark outlay of £20m, this could be a shrewd signing indeed that would fuse the Magpies’ attacking output for the year ahead.
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