Newcastle United are in hot pursuit of Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen but will need to smash their transfer record to land him, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper claim the north-east giants offered at least £16million for the Denmark international in the January window but fell short of Feyenoord’s asking price.
The Chronicle report Newcastle’s priority is to sign a proven forward this summer and Jorgensen is still on their target list, although the Eredivisie outfit are demanding a £21.9million fee.
OPINION
Is Jorgensen worth all the effort? That is what Newcastle fans will be asking after he stunk the place out at Feyenoord in the second half of 2017-18. The striker appeared to let all the January speculation go to his head as he had a barren couple of months in front of goal before a late rally at the end of the campaign. A tally of 13 goals from 34 matches in all competitions for the Dutch outfit was decent but far from enough to justify a £22million asking price, given the Eredivisie is a rung or two below the calibre of the Premier League. Jorgensen is a fine striker – his 2016-17 campaign was outstanding when he plundered 25 goals and supplied 17 assists following his move to Feyenoord from FC Copenhagen – and he is at an age, 27, when he should be at his peak. With eight goals from 32 Denmark matches, he is also charged with leading the line for his country at the World Cup. Newcastle should not pay £22million-plus for him, but he could prove to be good value for a fee of around £17-18million.
