---
title: "Newcastle: Magpies now eyeing Amine Gouiri"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle-magpies-consider-amine-gouiri/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "David Comerford"
section: "Newcastle United News"
published: "2022-06-28T12:26:59Z"
modified: "2022-06-28T12:27:16Z"
---

# Newcastle: Magpies now eyeing Amine Gouiri

**Newcastle United have identified Nice’s Amine Gouiri as a potential alternative to Hugo Ekitike, [according to The I’s Mark Douglas](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/sven-botman-newcastle-united-transfer-news-next-virgil-van-dijk-1709112).**

### The lowdown

After finalising a deal for Lille centre-back Sven Botman, Newcastle now want to sign a striker and a right winger.

Ekitike was the primary no. 9 target for Eddie Howe but the club have now become frustrated over a lack of progress.

And that’s why they may now turn to Gouiri, the 22-year-old who’s under contract until 2024 and valued at £37.8million by [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/amine-gouiri/profil/spieler/418659).

### The latest

[Douglas writes](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/sven-botman-newcastle-united-transfer-news-next-virgil-van-dijk-1709112) that Gouiri has been picked out as a potential plan B after the Ekitike move hit a wall.

He also names another candidate under consideration – Chelsea’s Armando Broja, who spent 21/22 on loan at Southampton.

A senior source has apparently informed Douglas that the club are ‘moving on’ from Ekitike due to an ‘unwillingness on either the player or his representative’s part to join Newcastle’.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”398104″\]

### The verdict

Gouiri appeared in all of Nice’s Ligue 1 games last season, scoring ten goals and providing nine assists. He also netted twice and set up another in the Coupe de France, helping his side reach the final (via [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/amine-gouiri/leistungsdaten/spieler/418659)).

He’s yet to make a senior France debut but it’s hard to imagine that’s particularly far away now after [21 caps and 15 direct goal involvements (10 goals, five assists)](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/amine-gouiri/nationalmannschaft/spieler/418659) for the Under-21s.

\[freshpress-poll id=”388955″\]

Gouiri typically played in a [front two](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/613/Show/France-Nice) at Nice but it wouldn’t necessarily be accurate to characterise him as an out-and-out striker.

He’s [extremely creative too](https://fbref.com/en/players/aad56ca3/Amine-Gouiri), ranking in the top 15 percentiles amongst forwards in Europe for progressive passes and expected assists.

It’s perhaps not a surprise, then, that he’s [drawn comparisons](https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1499761835494490113) to Liverpool’s false nine Roberto Firmino, who also [scores highly](https://fbref.com/en/players/4c370d81/Roberto-Firmino) for those metrics.

A technically-gifted player with a ‘legendary first touch’ ([in the words of European football expert Alex Barker](https://twitter.com/EuroExpert_/status/1506345366865780743)), he could be a real hit on Tyneside.