Newcastle United have their eye on Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette, according to journalist Ekrem Konur. 

The lowdown

According to The Athletic last month, the writing is seemingly on the wall for the 30-year-old at Arsenal as he approaches the end of his contract in June. He could be available on a cut-price deal in January if the Gunners want to avoid losing him for free.

Lacazette has only started three Premier League games so far this season, his solitary goal rescuing a point against Crystal Palace, although Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher applauded him for an 'outstanding' performance in that game.

The latest

According to Konur on Twitter, Newcastle are 'closely monitoring the situation' of Lacazette at the Emirates Stadium.

They aren't the only club keeping tabs, though, with his former employers Lyon also lurking as the Ligue 1 outfit have plans to bring him back when the January transfer window rolls around.

The verdict

Lacazette has proven himself to be a reliable Premier League goalscorer by netting 51 times in 134 appearances in the division.

Newly-installed Newcastle manager Eddie Howe already has a proven marksman at his disposal in the form of Callum Wilson, but according to Transfermarkt, the 43-year-old's preferred formation is a 4-4-2. That would mark a change from the setups employed by Steve Bruce and Graeme Jones in recent weeks as both often went with just one central striker.

If Howe wants to implement a 4-4-2 at St James' Park, he may need an upgrade on Joelinton and Dwight Gayle, who between them have scored just 11 Premier League goals since the start of the 2019/20 season. Lacazette, who has more than double that tally on his own in the same timeframe, would give Howe a much more potent option to partner with Wilson, and he could come relatively cheap if Arsenal want to make some money on him before letting him walk away as a free agent next summer.

In other news, the price for this PIF target has been revealed