RB Salzburg forward Noah Okafor has claimed he was the subject of a €38m transfer bid from Newcastle United last summer but the Austrian champions didn't make him aware of the offer.
The Magpies were in the market for a new forward in last summer's transfer window and after long drawn out pursuits of Watford forward Joao Pedro and Reims striker Hugo Ekitike, they eventually signed Swedish international Alexander Isak for a club record fee from Real Sociedad.
Isak, of course, made a huge impact at St James' Park but Okafor, who is a Swiss international team-mate of Magpies defender Fabian Schar, claims he could well have been leading the line for United last season instead.
“I had a lot of offers, four or five for sure," Okafor told the Say Less podcast.
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"Newcastle were there, West Ham were there, Dortmund. Suddenly it started, I had so many clubs [interested in signing me]. I think [the] Newcastle bid [was] €38m (approx 32m) but I didn’t even know. Salzburg always said: ‘We want you to stay’.”
Okafor, who can play anywhere across the front three, scored 14 goals and registered 11 assists in the 2021/22 season to attract interest from United and he followed that up with 10 goals and five assists last term.
The 23-year-old has impressed in the Champions League in each of the last two seasons and is primed for a move away from the Austrian Bundesliga this summer amid links with the likes of West Ham United and AC Milan.
