Newcastle are closing in on a deal for a £60m star who would be Howe’s very own ‘mini-Salah’

Newcastle United return to action in Premier League this evening as they prepare to welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to St. James’ Park.

A win for the hosts would send them into the top four and above Chelsea after the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth on Tuesday night.

Eddie HoweThe team go into this clash with Wolves struggling after a 3-1 win against League Two side Bromley in the last FA Cup, thanks to goals from Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon and Will Osula.

While the England head coach will have a strong focus on getting results in the Premier League as the Magpies go in search of Champions League qualification for the second time in his tenure, he will also be keeping one eye on the market.

The January transfer window has been open for two weeks now and Newcastle could be looking to strengthen their squad or make a deal before deals are done in the summer.

In fact, the Magpies are said to be interested in signing a player from one of their Premier League rivals, but that could be a deal that will go down until the end of the season.

Newcastle interested in Premier League striker

Speaking at The United Standas he reports Boot roomjournalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that Newcastle are keen to land Brentford striker Bryan Mbeum.

The journalist revealed that the Magpies have approached the signing of the Cameroonian international, but do not plan to bid for him in the current transfer window.

Jacobs said: “Brentford don’t want to sell, that’s the first thing. Newcastle are the only team to have made any concrete approach, they don’t have an offer for January, but they are looking at Mbeuma in the summer.”

The journalist added that Manchester United may have the left-footed Dinamo on their shortlist of targets due to Dan Ashworth’s short time at the club, as Mbuemo was also one of his targets during his spell with the Magpies.

Ahead of the January transfer window, Football Insider reported that Liverpool and Arsenal are also interested in signing the 25-year-old star, who is valued by Brentford at around £60m.

This suggests Newcastle could face serious competition for his signature at the end of the season, should the Reds and Gunners retain their interest and make a move for him in the summer.

It also shows how much the Magpies would need to shell out to secure his services and it remains to be seen whether the club are willing to pay that much money for him or not.

The board should still approve £60m for the Bees sensation, as he could be Howe’s own version of Liverpool and Premier League superstar Mohamed Salah.

Bryan Mbeumo compared to Mo Salah

Last month, Mbeumo scored a goal and registered an assist 4-2 win above Newcastle in the top flight and talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy described it as a “mini-Salah” in his analysis of the match.

Both Mbeumo and Salah are similar in style as left-footed strikers who mostly play on the right wing and look to step onto their stronger foot to make things happen upfield.

As you can see in the table above, ‘mini-Salah’ is an accurate description of the Brentford forward as he is statistically similar to the Liverpool star in terms of style, but the Egyptian international’s output in front of goal is significantly greater.

The former Chelsea striker amassed an incredible amount of money 18 goals and 13 assists in 20 appearances in the Premier League this season, leading department in both statistics.

Salah is a constant threat as a scorer and goal creator in the final third, and Newcastle haven’t had that on the right wing for a number of years.

While he won’t tempt the Egypt international to switch from Merseyside to Tyneside, Howe could get the club a mini version of the superstar by signing Mbeum.

Why Newcastle should sign Bryan Mbeum

The Magpies could improve their squad by signing the £60million striker in the summer ahead of the 2025/26 season, when they will hopefully have Premier League and Champions League football on offer.

Jacob Murphy has been Howe’s first choice on the right wing so far this season and the former Norwich man has been a major threat as a creator, with created nine ‘big opportunities’ for the team in 17 appearances.

However, the 29-year-old striker has only scored three goals in those 17 games and Newcastle could improve their frontline by bringing in a striker who offers more as a goalscorer week in and week out.

Murphy only scored 14 goals in 167 Previous appearances for the club in the Premier League and Mbeumo is already scored 13 goals in the division only this season, while playing in the same position.

As you can see in the table above, the Brentford star has significantly outscored the Newcastle winger in the Premier League this term, with 23 goals and ‘big chances’ created compared to Murphy’s 12.

He is in the best form of his Premier League career, with a tally of 13 goals, but has also carried a major goal threat in the 2022/23 campaigns. and 2023/24. for the Bees, guessing 18 league goals through both seasons together.

These stats suggest that Mbeumo, who could be Howe’s own mini-Salah coming in from the right wing, could be a huge upgrade on Murphy as a scorer and goal creator, to improve Newcastle’s chances of winning games by providing a greater threat in the final third.

At 25, the Cameroon international is also four years younger than the Englishman and could come in with development still to go through under Howe’s coaching, meaning he could be a fantastic long-term addition as well as an immediate upgrade for the squad.