It’s set to be a busy summer transfer window at Newcastle United.
Ahead of the Toon Army’s Champions League return, Eddie Howe will want to bolster his squad, to avoid the mass injury crisis he endured during the Magpies’ last continental campaign two seasons ago.
James Trafford is poised to arrive from Burnley for £40m, thereby seemingly taking over from Nick Pope as the number one goalkeeper, but could Newcastle be about to make some attacking additions too?
Newcastle targeting a new right-winger
As reported by David Ornstein of the Athletic, Newcastle have had a £45m bid rejected by Nottingham Forest for winger Anthony Elanga.
Meantime, speaking on the Totally Football Show, Daniel Storey outlines how Newcastle actually bid £5m more for the Swedish international last summer, who has since enjoyed a “really good season”, and that owner Evangelos Marinakis “will have absolutely none of that”, believing that the “proven, young” winger is worth closer to £60m.
So, with this deal seemingly unlikely to come to fruition, Steve Kay of Football Transfers claims that the Magpies are ready to submit a bid worth £50m to West Ham for winger Mohammed Kudus.
They add that Howe has identified the Ghanaian as a ‘key target’ amidst his ‘uncertain future’ in East London.
Meantime, Jacob Steinberg and Will Unwin of the Guardian note that Kudus’ contract contains an £85m release clause, although he could be available for closer to £60m, given the Hammers’ ongoing concerns surrounding Profitability & Sustainability rules, with Tottenham also looking to do a deal with their fierce rivals.
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So, could Kudus swap the East End for the North East?
Why Mohammed Kudus would be a success at Newcastle
Since joining West Ham from Ajax for a reported fee of £37m two summers ago, Kudus has scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in 80 appearances for the Irons.
His performances have come in for widespread praise, with host Dan Woffenden labelling him “electric”, while Ben Mattinson of Breaking the Lines describes him as an “explosive, skilful player”, adding that he possesses a “great burst of acceleration”, while his direct dribbling means he has the potential to become a “world-class winger”.
Adam Scully of Total Football Analysis agrees, asserting that Kudus’ primary attribute is ‘undoubtedly his dribbling ability’, impressed by his ‘sumptuous talents and low centre of gravity’.
Well, statistics from the Premier League since the Ghanaian’s arrival certainly back up these observations.
1st
Mohammed Kudus
221
Mohammed Kudus
208
2nd
Jérémy Doku
169
Jérémy Doku
201
3rd
Matheus Cunha
140
Morgan Rogers
160
4th
Luis Díaz
140
Iliman Ndiaye
143
5th
Eberechi Eze
140
Eberechi Eze
138
6th
Anthony Gordon
133
Rayan Aït-Nouri
137
7th
Bruno Guimarães
132
Matheus Cunha
137
8th
Raheem Sterling
132
Mohamed Salah
137
9th
Alejandro Garnacho
131
Omari Hutchinson
137
10th
Jordan Ayew
130
Antoine Semenyo
135
As the table outlines, since arriving in the Premier League, Kudus has topped the charts for attempted take-ons both seasons, while only Jérémy Doku, Eberechi Eze and Matheus Cunha have also featured in the top ten both times.
This goal against Freiburg in the Europa League is rather reminiscent of former Newcastle United hero Hatem Ben Arfa.
During his time on Tyneside, the Frenchman scored 14 goals in 86 appearances, but his occasional flashes of brilliance made him, as noted by Louise Taylor of the Guardian, ‘the sort of footballer fans adore’, praising his ‘exquisite touch… superior vision, perfect balance and elusive movement’.
Meantime, Jean-Baptiste Caillet of Opta’s the Analyst asserted that he was ‘France’s best dribbler since Zinédine Zidane’, while Peter McVitie of Goal will always remember his ‘dazzling firepower’ and ‘awesome displays of skill’.
All of Ben Arfa’s talent was never made more abundantly clear than during this goal against Bolton Wanderers in April 2012.
Fair to say, Kudus and Ben Arfa – both left-footers who can operately centrally or on the flanks – share similar characteristics. Both could be described as precocious talents, who are occasionally unstoppable but often lack consistency.
Thus, if Elanga proves unattainable, Newcastle should do all they can to snap up Kudus, given that the Ghanaian would get Geordie supporters off their seats, if nothing else!
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