"NUFC want..": Mark Douglas drops big Darsley Park transfer claim that'll delight Howe - opinion

A big Newcastle United transfer claim has been made on their plans for the summer window…

Magpies journalist Mark Douglas has revealed the position that PIF are viewing as their biggest area of improvement ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He Tweeted: “It’s a striker nufc want this summer as a ‘priority’.”

This comes after the Saudi Arabian consortium splashed the cash in the January window to sign Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Matt Targett and Bruno Guimaraes. They are now looking to take the next step and a new number nine is the player they want to bring in to do that.

The Toon head coach will be delighted with the club prioritising a new number nine as his squad is currently lacking a reliable and consistent striker to find the back of the net in the Premier League.

Callum Wilson scored 12 goals in the 2020/21 campaign and this tally means that you can argue that he is a consistent goalscorer in the top-flight as he hit double figures for the club. However, he has not been reliable in terms of his availability for selection as he started 23 matches that season and has started just 14 times in the current term.

Taking Wilson out of the equation, Allan Saint-Maximin is the club’s top scorer with five goals in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, Wood – who joined from Burnley for £25m – has only found the back of the net twice in 15 outings in the black and white shirt.

He has not been able to make an instant impact since joining from the Clarets and no one else has stepped up, consistently, to carry the burden in the final third.

The lack of goalscoring quality in the squad is evident and that is why the head coach will be delighted with the prospect of being given a new player to work with next term.