Newcastle have 'made moves' to sign £21m Euro 2024 top scorer to solve striker problem

Callum Wilson is still being tipped to leave Newcastle United this summer but regardless of whether or not that's true, Eddie Howe needs a new striker through the door.

Eddie Howe has said he'd prefer to keep Wilson at Newcastle because he'd be too expensive to replace, but the truth is his injury record and age are going against him, and with just a year left on his contract, selling him this summer while there's still interest just makes sense.

However, whether or not he stays or goes only affects the number of strikers Howe will need to sign as we simply can not go into another season with just two strikers in the squad.

There could be a cost-effective option on the table for the Magpies though, but they will face strong competition.

Georges Mikautadze has caught the eye of Newcastle

Georgia's Euro 2024 hero, Georges Mikautadze became the tournament's top scorer when he slotted home his penalty to double Georgia's lead against Portugal last night. That was his third goal in as many games with an assist to his name too.

It's no shock then, that his performances are attracting a lot of attention with his club, Metz (beware the Judderman, my dear) are bracing themselves for plenty of offers for the 23-year-old.

Mikautadze bagged 14 goals in 22 outings for Metz last season with four assists to go along with them in a side that got relegated from Ligue 1.

Newcastle need to act now and give Metz what they want

Newcastle have now reportedly entered the race to sign the Georgian forward this summer. Football Insider claim there are several big clubs interested including Borussia Dortmund and Napoli.

It's believed that Metz would demand €25million (£21million) for his services and if that's the case then Eddie Howe needs to waste no time and get on the blower and just offer that straight away. No messing about trying to penny-pinch, get in first, get in fast and just do what it takes. We would recoup much of that transfer fee by selling Callum Wilson before we even consider the amortisation side of things for PSR, which means we could still get in another striker.

The amount of messages I got during the game last night from fellow Toon fans saying we should sign Mikautadze was crazy. At least three. In all seriousness, he looks the business and I don't think we should sleep on this one.