Newcastle United are keen to strengthen their wide options this summer, according to reports.
Newcastle United fans are expecting a busy summer of transfer activity as Eddie Howe looks to once again assemble a team that can compete for Champions League football. The priorities for the Magpies are thought to be a goalkeeper, centre back and a right winger, with the forward position potentially coming into focus if someone like Callum Wilson was to depart.
At centre back, Newcastle have already made progress as they close in on the arrival of Lloyd Kelly on a free from Bournemouth. But the Toon look set to miss out on the signing of Tosin Adarabioyo, who is now expected to have a medical at Chelsea later this week.
On the goalkeeper front, the likes of Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili and Burnley youngster James Trafford are all on the radar. But the recruitment team are yet to decide whether to spend big on a young shot-stopper to compete with Nick Pope or whether to acquire an experienced number two following the departure of Loris Karius.
Newcastle’s biggest purchase of the window, however, is likely to come on the right hand side, amid talk of Miguel Almiron potentially moving on to pastures new, with Ipswich Town being the latest club to be linked with the Paraguayan.
The right hand side is regarded as the weak point of the attack, with only Jacob Murphy and Almiron being natural in that position. The pair together managed a combined seven goals six goals and eight assists between them, with the majority of those coming from Murphy. At ages 29 and 30 respectively, Murphy and Almiron are both approaching the latter stages of their careers, leading to speculation around a marque upgrade in that area.
Earlier reports from Telegraph Sport reporter Luke Edwards had mentioned West Ham talisman Jarrod Bowen as a potential target, along with Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise, but another name that is being assessed is thought to be Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams.
Williams is a member of Spain’s provisional Euro 2024 squad who is renowned for his excellent dribbling, trickery and ability to create chances out of nothing by taking on defenders. This in truth, has been an aspect of Newcastle’s game which has been missing since the departure of Allan Saint-Maximin, and Williams also has the assist figures to suggest he could be a star for years to come.
The 21-year-old has been a regular for Athletic Bilbao since 2021 when he followed in the footsteps of elder brother Inaki. This season has been Nico’s most productive for the Basque side with him registering five goals and 11 assists from 36 league matches.
Williams has also thrived in domestic competitions and formed an integral part of the Bilbao team which lifted the Copa Del Rey for the first time in 40 years. The youngster fired in two goals on his team’s route to the final, including winners against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. While he was also the man of the match in the final as Bilbao triumphed via a penalty shoot-out against Real Mallorca.
The youngster has been the subject of interest for a number of years, but did commit his future to Bilbao by signing a contract extension until 2027 back in December. However, the Athletic claims that the new deal has a release clause of £42m if the Magpies were to pursue the youngster.
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