h716a5.icuNewcastle United have been linked with a move for a “complete” attacking player who Kylian Mbappe admires, with his agents reaching out to the club.
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There is plenty happening at St James’ Park at the moment, although there will be relief that Eddie Howe seemingly isn’t going anywhere, with Thomas Tuchel named as England’s new manager.
Newcastle have been hit with a fresh injury blow with the news that Kieran Trippier is going to be sidelined for a number of weeks with a hamstring issue, putting pressure on Tino Livramento to stay fit and produce a consistent run of form.
In other news, Leroy Sane has been talked about as a potentially ambitious signing, although the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are said to be providing competition for the Bayern Munich winger’s services.
Rumours of a move for Crystal Palace and England centre-back Marc Guehi are also refusing to go away, with a January transfer not out of the question for Newcastle. The Eagles held firm during the summer transfer window, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the Magpies test their resolve midway through the season.
Agents reach out to Newcastle over "complete" ace
According to The Boot Room, Newcastle are one of the clubs mentioned as suitors to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani.
The 25-year-old is not wanted by current manager Luis Enrique, who sees no future for him at the Ligue 1 champions, and his agents have reached out to the Magpies. However, they are far from the only Premier League club in this position, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa all getting a mention.
Some Newcastle fans may be put off by the fact that PSG seem happy to let Kolo Muani leave, but he is a talented attacking player who has performed at the highest level, and featured in the 2022 World Cup final for France, scoring in the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina.
Meanwhile, there is also the small matter of Real Madrid superstar Mbappe rating him highly, with the world-renowned attacking ace saying of him: “He is a striker who offers different game options to our team. He is very complete and has an impressive volume of play.”
A tally of 8 goals in 25 caps for France is a solid return for Kolo Muani, and at 25, there could still be a lot more to come from him in his career. He has been statistically compared to Liverpool attacker Darwin Nunez in style by FBref, with the table below outlining their 2024/25 seasons to date:
Appearances (Starts)
7 (2)
4 (1)
Goals
2
1
Pass completion rate
79.3%
73.3%
Shots per game
1.6
1.0
Key passes per game
0.3
0.3
With Callum Wilson unlikely to be at Newcastle for much longer, a new striker is needed to provide competition for Alexander Isak, and Kolo Muani could be a strong option to come in.