Newcastle United are keen on signing Huddersfield Town striker Steve Mounie, according to TEAMtalk.
The 6’3″ Benin international [Transfermarkt] joined the Terriers for £12 million in 2017, but could be moved on this summer after the club were relegated from the Premier League.
The report claims that the Magpies could face competition for his signature from top flight rivals Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Watford.
OPINION
If this report is true, then Newcastle better do something to make it untrue pretty quickly. To be fair to Mounie, he isn’t the worst player in the world, and he had a hard time playing in a Huddersfield side that looked for large parts of last season as if they could barely remember what the opposition goal looked like. But for all of his early promise, including a brace on his debut, the striker soon settled into a pattern of anonymity. Just seven more Premier League goals would follow in 58 more top flight appearances, and far too often the 24-year-old would have little to no impact on a match. Over the course of last season he averaged just o.6 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per match. By contract he won a mammoth 6.8 aerial duels per game [Whoscored]. Therein lies the problem. The Magpies could move for him, but they would be signing a beanpole to stick up front and lump long balls up to. For a team in such bad shape morale-wise, is that really a wise move? And is it an effective way to avoid the drop? Just ask any Huddersfield and they’ll tell you the answer is no.
