With Newcastle struggling for goals this season, there is no doubt that a striker is on their wishlist.
Joelinton has struggled to make an impact since making a £40m move to the North East, so subsequently, the club are now looking for someone to ease a bit of pressure on the forward – and according to reports, Moussa Dembele might be that man, though admittedly there are some clubs far bigger than Newcastle sniffing around.
According to the Daily Mail, a scout from the Magpies attended Lyon’s 2-1 win in Bordeaux in the weekend, suggesting that they are eyeing up a move for the former Celtic and Fulham forward.
The same report does also state that Manchester City, Manchester United and West Ham scouts were also at the game, which if true, would arguably put them at the bottom of the pile financially and reputationally.
The story goes onto say that the French side could make a move for Tino Kadewere – a player the Magpies are also interested in – as well as Karl Toko Ekambi from Villareal.
While there is no reported figure for how much he could cost the club on Tyneside within the Daily Mail, Le Parisien state that he could cost as much as £43m.
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Considering the 23-year-old’s goalscoring record, that fee actually seems pretty reasonable, though still one which would be hard to see Newcastle spending – even if they did pay £40m for Joelinton.
On the other hand, if United did have that kind of money to splash, it would be hard to see Dembele being convinced by the club.
Lyon aren’t exactly having the best of seasons – currently seventh in Ligue 1 – but they do have a Champions League round of 16 tie on the horizon against Juventus.
With the experience that comes with a top European night like that, it’s hard to see why he would leave it for the bottom echelons of the Premier League, especially when he knows if he keeps this impressive goalscoring form up, one of the bigger teams at this level might well take a punt on him.
So far in France, his goalscoring record is better in Ligue 1 than it is in the SPL – so it’s a move that’s working out for him. He has bagged 25 times in 51 games in Ligue 1, meaning that it could be quite soon that we see him try and replicate that at the Premier League, just at a club better than Newcastle, unfortunately.