Newcastle pursuing move for £21m "goal machine", he could be Howe's answer to Haaland - opinion

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Gaetan Laborde in the summer transfer window…

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Magpies are one of a number of teams pursuing a deal to sign the striker before next week’s deadline.

The report claims that Lille and West Ham are also keen on the attacker, who could leave Rennes before the end of the window.

It has been reported that he could be available for a fee in the region of €25m (£21m), although it remains to be seen how much the Toon are willing to pay for him.

The Magpies’ head coach watched on as his team battled hard to earn a 3-3 draw against champions Manchester City on Sunday.

However, they could have walked away with all three points if not for Haaland’s display. The Norweigan predator’s movement in the box opened up space for Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva to score, whilst he also found the back of the net with his own superb finish.

Callum Wilson scored a goal of his own on the day but only completed nine passes and did not create a single chance for his teammates, whilst Haaland created one ‘big chance’.

Since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, the Englishman has failed to register an assist or create a ‘big chance’ in 21 Premier League matches – scoring ten times along the way. This shows that he does not offer much in the way of creativity and is a one-dimensional striker in that sense.

Newcastle and Howe could now land their answer to Haaland by signing a striker who can score goals and assist his teammates – Laborde.

Journalist Clement Carpentier dubbed him a “goal machine” and his 32 Ligue 1 goals since the start of the 2020/21 season back that up.

Along with his goalscoring exploits, the 28-year-old has also shown that he can link