Newcastle United have some money to spend during the summer transfer window, a former Liverpool star is believed to be on their radar.
Newcastle’s summer is already shaping up to be one of the most pivotal in the PIF ownership era, and it needs to be.
Sitting 13th in the Premier League with two games still to play, Eddie Howe‘s side have delivered a campaign well below the standards set last season that had Tyneside dreaming big.
16 defeats from 36 matches tells the story plainly enough — this squad simply has not been good enough.
The problems facing the club extend well beyond the final league position.
Anthony Gordon continues to attract serious interest from Bayern Munich, with reports this week suggesting the German giants have agreed personal terms with the 25-year-old.
Growing belief Monaco star is ‘destined’ to join Newcastle with officials dispatched
Eddie Howe’s side need a big summer.
Losing a player of his quality — one of the few consistent performers in a disappointing season and their top scorer — would represent a significant blow to both the squad and the mood around St James’ Park.
He isn’t the only star who could leave either, with Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and others also linked with high-profile summer exits.
Newcastle also face the challenge of navigating the transition from PSR to the new Squad Cost Ratio financial framework, which will cap spending on wages, transfers and agent fees at 85 per cent of football revenue from next season.
The club posted a healthy profit last year, but much of that was driven by a stadium sale-and-leaseback arrangement rather than organic growth, and senior figures have cautioned that it will not automatically unlock a bigger transfer budget.
Even still, the recruitment department has been active.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Newcastle scouts have made repeated trips to France to watch Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara, with a growing belief inside the club that the 22-year-old Senegal international is destined for Tyneside this summer.
Alongside Camara, Howe’s side are also keen on ex-Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez.
Newcastle move for ex-Liverpool star Darwin Nunez increasingly likely
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, the prospect of a deal to bring Nunez to Newcastle is ‘continually growing stronger’ as a potentially ‘lucrative’ move ‘edges closer’.
The 26-year-old Uruguayan has been frozen out at Al-Hilal since February, having not been included in a single matchday squad in the months since, and a return to European football is now described as becoming “more and more likely” ahead of next season.
Newcastle are said to have tracked Nunez for years — dating back to his time at Benfica and throughout his spell at Liverpool — but have never been in a position to get a deal done.
This summer could be different.
Reports suggest Al-Hilal are prepared to terminate the striker’s contract a year early, which would make him available on a free transfer.
His time at Anfield was a mixed bag — 40 goals across three seasons was a decent return, but never quite enough to silence the doubters or justify the mammoth fee Liverpool paid to bring him in from Benfica.
Another catch, inevitably, is money. Not the transfer fee — the wages.
Nunez’s contract in Saudi Arabia is enormous, and any club hoping to sign him will need to come close to matching those ‘huge’ terms.
Newcastle, Chelsea and Juventus are all in the frame, and whichever side is willing to meet those demands will hold the advantage.
It would not be a straightforward deal for a club still operating with a wage bill considerably lower than the traditional top six.
But Newcastle’s hierarchy are determined to push back towards the European places next season, and Nunez — if the numbers can be made to work — may represent the kind of signing that could reinforce Howe’s attacking options.
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