Newcastle United have reportedly sent an offer to sign Ousmane Dembele in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Signings galore?

With reports that the St James' Park club have already put in a formal bid to try and sign Kieran Trippier, it seems as if they are going to be very busy during the winter market.

They are currently 19th in the Premier League table and have the joint-worst defensive record out of any team in the division, so reinforcements at the back certainly seem needed in order to give them the best possible chance of staying up.

The Latest: Dembele offer

As per Sport (via Sport Witness), Barcelona are now 'very, very close' to giving up their efforts of trying to get Dembele to sign a new deal, as his current contract expires in the summer.

He is making 'crazy' demands over the extension of his deal and now it seems likely that he could move to Newcastle. The Magpies have 'sent a succulent offer' to Dembele, but he is not thought to be keen on a move to them yet.

The Verdict: Avoid

Strengthening the defence should be the priority for Eddie Howe's team this month, so Dembele is a player that they should be avoiding.

Of course, he promised so much as a youngster, earning a whopping £121.5m move from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017, and his former teammate Lionel Messi even went as far as to call him a 'phenomenon'.

When the player was at Rennes, then-sporting director Mikael Silvestre even likened him to a young Cristiano Ronaldo, but in truth the 24-year-old has been a disappointment at Camp Nou, with just 30 goals and 24 assists in 126 games (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, his wage demands seem huge and should not be encouraged, so it is best for the Magpies to look elsewhere.

In other news, Nick Hammond is now preparing an offer for this one-time Premier League ace