Newcastle United are reportedly front runners in the race to sign Wigan Atheltic’s highly rated 19-year old striker this summer.
The report comes from the Daily Mail and it states that United are ahead of Scottish side Celtic in securing the signature of Kyle Joseph from the Latics.
The forward has had talks with Celtic as recently as February but the reported £850’000 compensation package that Newcastle are prepared to pay would blow anything out of the water that the former Scottish champions would be willing to pay.
Joseph is apparently not short of admirers in football and Celtic’s old firm rivals Rangers have been credited with an interest in the player as well as Premier League side Arsenal.
This season has been the youngsters first in senior football and he has scored five times in his 14 Sky Bet League One games but unfortunately he finds himself injured at present and unable to help in Wigan’s bid to beat the drop.
A goal that will endear him to Toon fans is his 16th minute winner for Wigan in their 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light in early December 2020.
This is the second Newcastle transfer link that involves Celtic as it has been said that Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer is someone of interest to United.
The links to Kyle Joseph seem somewhat to similar to the reported interest in Bristol City’s young striker Antoine Semenyo. Both are highly rated younger players in the lower divisions but are yet to show anything that says they could be genuine contenders for a spot in the first team place.
Again, especially with a budget likely to be heavily impacted by Covid-19, this is a transfer that I could see happening as we may me willing to take a risk in a player with less pedigree than stumping up for a striker for a solid CV to his name.