Newcastle United 's striker hunt continues after missing out on signing Hugo Ekitike this summer - and they've lined up two potential alternatives.
Despite having agreed on a fee with Reims back in June for Ekitike, the France under-20 international favoured a move to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain instead.
Following that disappointment, the Magpies must now turn their attention elsewhere as they look to acquire a striker that can produce a reliable source of goals for the richest club in the world, as they look to continue their ascent up the Premier League.
According to the latest reports, Eddie Howe’s side are opting to stick with their preference of signing a young, highly-rated French striker this summer, as they target two more candidates from Ligue 1 clubs.
The first of those has been reported by French outlet Le10Sport, who say that Newcastle have entered a two-way battle with Bayer Leverkusen for the signing of Sochaux striker Alan Virginius, and are supposedly readying a bid of up to £8m to land the 19-year-old.
Virginius has recorded eight goals and four assists in 50 games for Sochaux in all competitions since making his first team debut in September 2020, which included five goals and two assists in 31 Ligue 2 appearances last season as Sochaux finished fifth.
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He is also a France under-19 international, for whom he has registered five goals in 12 appearances, but is yet to be given a chance at any level of top flight football in his short career so far, although Howe is keen on providing him with that opportunity.
But should Newcastle fail in their attempts to land the Sochaux forward, they're also keeping tabs on Bordeaux's Sekou Mara, who they are said to be readying ‘contact’ with, according to L’Equipe. The report states that Bordeaux have set an asking price of €15million (£12.7m) plus bonuses and a percentage of any sell-on fee.
Mara is a former product of the PSG academy and made his senior breakthrough for Bordeaux in 2021, where he has since gone on to record seven goals and four assists in 36 games in all competitions, with six of those goals coming last season in Ligue 1.
The 19-year-old has represented France at youth level and has a full season of French top flight football under his belt.
While the stats of Virginius and Mara are modest in comparison to Ekitike, they are both still amongst some of the best young talents within French football, and are exactly the type of player that Howe is looking to sign.
