Newcastle United are in pursuit of free agent striker Jonathan Afolabi, according to Pundit Arena.
The Irish news outlet claims via their website that Afolabi, 19, is still without a club since being released by Southampton at the end of last season but has since attracted the attention from a whole host of teams across the UK and Europe.
Crystal Palace are understood to be leading the chase for the Ireland Under-19 international at this stage but Newcastle, Birmingham and Reading are also interested in the young centre-forward.
Pundit Arena adds that Afolabi is also wanted by teams in Spain and Russia but one club whose interest has cooled in the teenager is Aston Villa, who are no longer in the running for his signature.
OPINION
Newcastle definitely have a battle on their hands to sign Afolabi but as he is available for free, young and could be a good player in the future, it is certainly worth the club’s time in trying to pursue the 19-year-old. Afolabi never made a single senior appearance at Southampton, but that may be down to the fact that his goalscoring record at Under-18 and Under-23 level hasn’t been that amazing. Last season in Premier League 2, Afolabi scored just four goals in 14 appearances. One of them came against Newcastle’s Under-23s side back in December last year, but that scoring record is hardly that impressive. Although it’s not that great, Afolabi is still a young up-and-coming player that might come good one day and considering he’s available for free, signing him might be a good idea. Newcastle are short of options in their attack so there’s no harm in adding an extra layer of depth by signing one for the future. That doesn’t mean the Magpies shouldn’t continue to strengthen their first-team, it’s just good to have that extra option just in case.
