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Newcastle in the race for “superb” £60m “creator”
Newcastle United return to Champions League football next season and are currently in the process of identifying their top targets to bolster their squad over the summer.
The Magpies completed their ambitious goals to upgrade their Conference League qualification to the most elite European competition, and Eddie Howe will be delighted with the progress made over the last 12 months.
The much-loved Newcastle boss has led his side to another top-five finish, and more importantly, their first major trophy in 70 years – an achievement that will have his name engraved in the history of the club forever.
Now, a new challenge is ahead of him with the ambition for Newcastle to become an established elite side in both Europe and the Premier League, so recruiting healthily this summer will be imperative.
While finding a centre-back successor for Fabian Schar is high on the list of priorities, the signing of another forward is a strong desire to enhance the attacking threat alongside star striker Alexander Isak.
Caught Offside are reporting that Newcastle are one of the Premier League clubs interested in signing AS Monaco star Maghnes Akliouche this summer.
The Ligue 1 club are expected to command a fee of up to €70m (£60m) for their talented forward, who is also attracting interest from Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Who is Maghnes Akliouche?
Ligue 1 is famed for developing some of the incredible talent picked up by Premier League clubs over the last decade, with Fabinho, Bernardo Silva, Lucas Paqueta and Youri Tielemans to name a few.
Despite being only 23 year’s old, Akliouche has already earned high praise for his performances in France with football talent scout Jacek Kulig hailing the Frenchman a “superb combination of a dribbler and creator” who is “elegant on the ball with a silky touch”.
Operating as both an attacking midfielder and on the right wing this season for Monaco, the France U21s international has been a solid contributor in the attacking threat, scoring seven goals and registering 12 assists in all competitions, demonstrating his diversity in positioning, a keen eye for goal, confidence and creativity.
As a result, Akliouche would be well-placed to finally replace Miguel Almiron following his departure in January and would make an exceptional long-term successor for Jacob Murphy, while also offering depth in the advanced midfield role too.
Newcastle are already heavily linked with a £60m move for Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo, with many reports stating that the club are intending to make their move for the Premier League star imminently.
With that being said, it is unlikely that both Mbeumo and Akliouche will be targeted by Newcastle, given the investment it would require, so it will be interesting to see which direction the club goes in this summer.
