Helped by a controversial red card being handed out to Jhon Duran early on, Newcastle United managed to make it three wins on the trot in the Premier League on Boxing Day by convincingly beating Aston Villa 3-0.
Across this trio of victories, Eddie Howe’s clinical Magpies have found the back of the net a stunning 12 times, helped by Alexander Isak being on top form alongside the likes of Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy causing second-tier defences all sorts of bother down the channels.
But, it seems as if the Newcastle boss isn’t content with what he at his disposal currently despite such glowing results, with this attacker now reportedly being eyed up.
Newcastle targeting move for PL star
As per a report by football journalist Alan Nixon, Newcastle are preparing a swoop for Everton centre-forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin, even as the 27-year-old continues to mainly fire blanks this season for the Toffees.
The high-flying Magpies won’t pay a fee this January, however, to land their desired man, with the likelihood being that the Toon will wait it out until the summer to attempt to lure the striker to St. James’ Park, who also has a pre-contract offer from Fiorentina on the table.
Regardless of interest from Italy, Newcastle are allegedly favourites to secure Calvert-Lewin’s signature, who could well benefit from a change of scenery in a bid to recapture his goalscoring best.
Funnily enough, the aforementioned Gordon transformed himself into an overwhelming success story on Tyneside after he waved farewell to Goodison Park, with the 6 foot 2 striker – who has just six months left on his deal – in line to do the same.
How Calvert-Lewin can be Gordon 2.0
Indeed, with audacious strikes like these cannoning in, Gordon has become one of the first names on Howe’s team sheet this season, after struggling at points to set the world alight on Merseyside.
From 78 games donning a Toffees strip, Gordon would only muster up seven goals and eight assists. Under a new set of ideas at Newcastle, however, the 23-year-old boasts a superior 17 goals and 15 assists from just seven more clashes.
It’s clear from the table above that Calvert-Lewin – labelled as a “monster” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig at the very peak of his powers – might find his mojo again, much like Gordon, if he does decide to up and leave for the Magpies this coming summer, having once fired home a mightily impressive 16 Premier League strikes for his side during the 2020/21 campaign.
The pair would potentially link up well with each other if this free transfer deal gets off the ground, with Howe also overjoyed that he has another potential striker option he can call upon, away from just relying on the heroics of Isak week in week out.
With Callum Wilson regularly in the St James’ Park treatment room, and William Osula arguably off the pace required of the senior mix, gaining the £100k-per-week target for very little might well prove to be a stroke of genius if he can breathe life back into his playing days.
After all, the Sheffield-born forward once had an excessive £60m price tag above his head, meaning this could be very wise business if he does get back to firing on all cylinders.
Before any move does get finalised, Howe and Co will just be focused on ensuring their positive run of form continues into the New Year, with trips to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur up next to close out 2024 and begin 2025.
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