Your Newcastle United transfer round-up for Sunday, December 18.
Newcastle set to prioritise Kvaratskhelia
Perhaps the breakthrough star of the 2022/2023 campaign, or at least in the Italian top-flight, has been Georgian sensation Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose services could be as hard to secure as his name is to pronounce.
It has been reported by The Times that Newcastle hold a genuine and serious interest in the tricky winger, with the club reportedly willing to make his transfer a priority across both the upcoming January and summer windows.
Kvaratskhelia won’t be cheap however, with The Times’ report detailing that Napoli would demand in excess of £50 million for the 21-year-old who is tied down until 2027, giving the Italian giants no urgent need to sell one of their star assets.
The Georgia international joined the current Serie A league leaders in the summer from FC Dinamo Batumi for a reported £10 million, but they could be tempted to make an instant, and significant profit on that fee.
Newcastle will of course face competition from Europe’s elite sides for a player who has thrilled and amazed this season both domestically and in the Champions League, starring in Napoli’s 4-1 humbling of Liverpool.
Kvaratskhelia boasts an impressive 16 goal contributions (eight goals and eight assists) in just 17 appearances for Gli Azzurri, earning him the sacred nickname Kvaradona after club icon Diego Maradona
Magpies keen on Moukoko
Teenage 'wonderkid' Youssoufa Moukoko will be a name known to certain football fans for a few years now, but the Germany international has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks even more so, with his contract set to expire in June of next year.
Moukoko joined the Borussia Dortmund academy from his boyhood FC St. Pauli in 2016 and drew attention when he regular played several year groups above his age and by the time he had graduated into Die Borussen first team the teenage talent had scored a staggering 141 goals in just 88 games for Dortmund's under-17 and under-19 sides.
The Daily Mail and Sky Germany have both reported that Newcastle have now joined the ever-growing list of admirers for the German, who was the youngest player at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The report suggests that Chelsea are far and away front runners for the recently turned 18-year-old’s signature, but that the Magpies are in the chasing pack along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona.
Eddie Howe’s side hold the advantage financially however, and with Moukoko available to sign on a pre-contract in January, it could well be that money talks, although that very much remains to be seen.
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