Newcastle United transfer rumours as Magpies join race for 12-goal striker wanted by Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund
Here's a round-up of you Newcastle United transfer rumours on Thursday, 17 February.
Newcastle are reportedly mulling over a move for Red Bull Salzburg striker Noah Okafor, who has netted 12 goals in 25 games for the Austrian side this season.
The club have qualified for the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the first time in their history and host Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Last 16 on Wednesday evening.
Okafor has been critical in Salzburg’s progression in the competition, scoring three times in the group stage; a brace against Wolfsburg and a goal versus Sevilla.
The 21-year-old has scored seven times in 15 Austrian Bundesliga games so far, and has attracted the interest of several European giants such as Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Inter Milan.
That’s according to Sportsbild (via Sport Witness), who claim that Newcastle have now put their hat into the ring.
He has two-years left on his contract with his current employers and is valued at around €12million (£10million).
Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten claims that the Magpies were targeting the youngster prior to the £25million acquisition of Chris Wood.
Okafor has won the Austrian double-double with Salzburg, the club winning both the league and the domestic cup in the same campaign for the past two seasons.
The Magpies are wary of interest in Swiss defender Fabian Schar, with AC Milan and Napoli both keeping tabs on the Newcastle centre-half.
Schar has been an ever present since Eddie Howe's arrival on Tyneside and has been one of the reason's behind Newcastle's upturn in fortunes.
The Toon are reportedly keen on offering Schar a new deal, with another Premier League club reportedly interested in signing him, according to the Daily Mail.
The Swiss