Newcastle are competing with Southampton for the signing of Burnley striker Chris Wood, a report from The Mirror (16/08, p67) has claimed.
Wood has scored 34 goals over the course of the last three Premier League seasons since joining Burnley from Leeds in the summer of 2017, and it now seems as though the forward, who has been capped 57 times by New Zealand, is attracting plenty of attention from elsewhere.
According to the latest reports, both Newcastle and Southampton are keen to recruit the 28-year-old as both look to add to their attacking options.
Magpies boss Steve Bruce is apparently keen to target players with a proven track record in England, while Southampton are said to view Wood as an ideal partner for Danny Ings.
It is thought that Wood is valued at £13million by Burnley, but with three years remaining on the striker’s contract with the Clarets – securing his future at Turf Moor until the end of the 2022/23 season – the Lancashire club are in a strong position to negotiate any offers that come in for him.
With Newcastle seemingly in need of a goalscorer following what was, to say the least, a lacklustre campaign in front of goal last time out, this could certainly be a decent signing for the club.
Wood has more than proven his ability to get goals in the Premier League over the past few years, so it does feel as though he is exactly what the club need in that respect.
However, with interest from elsewhere in the striker, and Burnley in a strong postion to negotiate any offers that come in, it feels like it could still need something big from Newcastle to pull this signing off, and it will be interesting to see if they are willing to come up with the big money here as a result.