Promising news has emerged in Newcastle’s bid to end their wretched form in front of goal.
Wolfsburg have reportedly already begun preparations to find a replacement for one of the Toon’s transfer targets, Wout Weghorst. The German club are eyeing up fellow Bundesliga striker Jhon Cordoba, which could present Steve Bruce with the opportunity to bring the Wolves’ top scorer to St James’ Park.
Arsenal are also reportedly interested in the Dutch international striker who has bagged 16 Bundesliga goals this season, but only if Pierre Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette depart this summer. Therefore, when the transfer window opens, Newcastle must act fast to convince the towering 6ft 5inch target man his career would be better off on Tyneside.
Bruce has been crying out for a proven goalscorer all season long, even admitting that two-goal £40m summer arrival Joelinton wasn’t a natural finisher. Weghorst has not struggled in that department for some time, scoring at least 16 goals in each of his last four seasons in the Bundesliga and Eredivisie.
Additionally, the Dutchman has provided ten assists across his last two German top-flight campaigns, suggesting he is not merely a poacher and can link well with the other forwards around him. Players like Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron would likely be delighted if someone could relieve the duo of some of the goalscoring burden, having scored seven Premier League strikes between them, while also presenting the pair with further opportunities to gobble up.
For the majority of the season, Bruce has elected to start with a lone striker, often Joelinton, but of late he has occasionally switched to two forwards in an attempt to negate Newcastle’s attacking ineptitude. Weghorst would be comfortable leading the line alone and given his tremendous size, would likely be a real handful for defenders, drawing their attention so he could free up space for Newcastle’s rapid wide men and feed them flick-ons.
The 27-year-old is at the apex of his value, rated £27m (Transfermarkt), but Newcastle would be paying a premium for getting the finished article. There is no guarantee of anything in football, but Weghorst’s track record across the last four seasons, particularly in the Bundesliga, suggests he could bag goals in the Premier League.
With Wolfsburg already reportedly lining up a replacement, it appears they are preparing for Weghorst’s inevitable exit. It is now up to the Magpies to make sure that if he does arrive in England, the Dutchman’s departure destination is Newcastle international airport.
