Newcastle in the mix to sign "remarkable" £9.9m-rated sensation, he's Wilson 2.0 - opinion

Newcastle United have been linked with a summer move for Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee.

According to a recent report from Het Laatste Nieuws (via Sport Witness), the Magpies have joined Ajax and Anderlecht in the race to sign the centre-forward this summer.

Starting his career in Netherlands, the 21-year-old joined Bayern’s under-17 squad five years ago. Since then, the youngster has gone on to make 98 appearances for the German club across their senior and youth teams.

In that time, he has scored 50 goals and delivered 26 assists along the way, highlighting his attacking prowess in front of goal.

Last season saw the striker spend the campaign on loan with Anderlecht in Belgium, where he found the net 18 times and provided 13 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.

In his 32 league games for the Brussels outfit, Zirkzee – who is currently valued at £9.9m by Transfermarkt – ended the season with more shots on target (30) than any other player at the club. He also won 27 tackles, showing that he isn’t afraid to get stuck in to try and win the ball back for his team either.

Praised for his “remarkable” development at Bayern by former manager Hansi Flick, Zirkzee has also received praise from the German club’s academy manager Holger Seitz.

He said of the Dutch youngster: “He’s the kind of player who is highly sought-after: a powerful striker who keeps his cool and doesn’t let himself be caught out. He has a great understanding of football and reacts quickly to different situations.”

Given how Newcastle have relied on goals from Callum Wilson over the past couple of years (20 in total), it seems as though the Toon could find their next version of the English striker this summer in the Bayern sensation.

Havin