Leeds United winger Jack Harrison
Newcastle United have encountered further frustration in their pursuit of their attacking transfer targets, with Leeds United communicating their demands for Jack Harrison.Â
The lowdown
The Magpies have made three signings so far this summer, but they’ve all come at the defensive end of the pitch.
They have made left-back Matt Targett’s loan from Aston Villa permanent for £15.75m, brought in goalkeeper Nick Pope from Burnley for £10.35m and spent £33.3m on Lille centre-back Sven Botman (via Transfermarkt).
However, as outlined by Scott Wilson on Twitter, they are struggling to make progess with a variety of attacking transfer targets.
They lost out to Paris Saint-Germain in the race for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike and encountered ‘unrealistic’ price tags for Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak and Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby (via The Northern Echo).
The latest
Wilson took to Twitter on Sunday to share an article for The Northern Echo in which he reported upon the latest development’s regarding Newcastle’s pursuit of Harrison.
The journalist tweeted: “#NUFC will have to pay £35m for Jack Harrison – with Leeds adamant they don’t want to sell after already losing Phillips and Raphinha. Newcastle finding it difficult to make headway with a number of different attacking targets”.
The verdict
Why are these £35m demands problematic for Newcastle, given PIF’s vast resources?
Well, such a deal would make Harrison the third-most expensive player in the club’s history, behind Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes. Also, the Magpies have already spent £59m of a reported £80m budget, without making any significant gains from player exits.
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Perhaps they’ll wait to see if they can generate some decent funds from player departures before deciding whether to pull the trigger on a move for Harrison.
The 25-year-old has already shown that he can deliver in the Premier League with 16 goals at that level, accuring eight goals and one assist last season for a struggling Leeds outfit and 16 direct goal involvements (eight goals, eight assists) in the campaign prior.
Furthermore, his heroic last-minute winner over Brentford on the final day of the season, which ensured that the Whites avoided relegation from the top flight, suggests that he can thrive in pressurised scenarios.
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