Newcastle have been scouting Nigerian striker Victor Boniface and could be poised to make a move.
A report in The Sun has said that Newcastle have had their scouts watching 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen striker as a potential addition to their forward line.
So far this season, Boniface has scored seven goals in seven games as well as providing two assists, he's out-scoring our very own Alexander Isak who's goal-per-minute ratio is insane.
Described by Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso as 'powerful', Boniface was on the Leverkusen radar for a while before his summer move.
"Victor's a real problem for opposition defences. He's powerful, quick and makes runs from deep. He has a good mentality and works for the team, not for himself."
Xabi Alonso told Bundesliga.com
If you've been paying attention you've probably already spotted the big problem - Boniface only joined Leverkusen this summer from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise for around £12million.
That will more than likely rule out any move for him in January and could still make a summer move tricky, especially if he continues banging in goals for fun - Leverkusen aren't going to want to let him go.
Newcastle's interest sounds pretty strong, they've scouted him for club and country, recently having scouts in Portugal watching him for Nigeria as they took on Saudi Arabia and Mozambique. He failed to get himself on the scoresheet but made enough of a nuisance of himself that he forced an own goal by Saudi Arabia.
Boniface is definitely one to keep an eye on this season, and if his form stays this good for the whole season then we should be right there with an offer Leverkusen can't refuse.
Bayer Leverkusen are a selling club, but they do it with maximum profit in mind and won't sell on the cheap. Newcastle have already had trouble negotiating with them for Dominic Szoboszlai who ended up joining Liverpool, while they managed to squeeze the best part of £80million out of Manchester City for Josko Gvardiol.
If Boniface is as good as his stats suggest, however, then just pay what he's worth. With Callum Wilson turning 32 and both he and Isak susceptible to injuries, it makes sense to have a third option.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
6 | 10 | 15 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
6 | 8 | 14 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
6 | 7 | 14 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
6 | 8 | 13 |
5 |
Aston Villa
|
6 | 3 | 13 |
6 |
Fulham
|
6 | 3 | 11 |
7 |
Newcastle United
|
6 | 1 | 11 |
8 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
6 | 7 | 10 |
9 |
Brighton
|
6 | 2 | 9 |
10 |
Nottingham Forest
|
6 | 1 | 9 |
11 |
Bournemouth
|
6 | -1 | 8 |
12 |
Brentford
|
6 | -2 | 7 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
6 | -3 | 7 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
6 | -4 | 5 |
15 |
Ipswich
|
6 | -5 | 4 |
16 |
Everton
|
6 | -8 | 4 |
17 |
Leicester
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
18 |
Crystal Palace
|
6 | -4 | 3 |
19 |
Southampton
|
6 | -9 | 1 |
20 |
Wolves
|
6 | -10 | 1 |