Newcastle United are in pole position to secure a late deal to sign Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah despite competition from Crystal Palace.
According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Newcastle United are closing in on the capture of Eddie Nketiah. Talks between Arsenal and Newcastle are progressing well surrounding the transfer of the young forward, who is seemingly keen on leaving the Emirates in this January transfer window.
Other than Newcastle, Crystal Palace were the other club to have expressed the desire to sign Nketiah this month. However, Arsenal rebuffed their attempts earlier in January, as they were unwilling to sanction the youngster’s departure without signing a proper replacement. The Gunners are yet to sign a forward and the move for Nketiah is unlikely to be confirmed until they do.
The Gunners haven’t had much luck in regard to their pursuit of a new attacker so far. Their top target Dusan Vlahovic has recently joined Juventus, while a move for Luka Jovic is also off the table.
Nevertheless, Newcastle remain in pole position to secure the services of the former Leeds United attacker, who has featured in only 51 minutes of league action this term. Many Arsenal fans believe that the youngster is not prepared to represent Arsenal just yet and requires regular game-time elsewhere.
St. James’ Park could prove to be an ideal destination, as Nketiah is destined to gain more regular minutes under Eddie Howe. The Magpies’ head coach had brought in Chris Wood earlier in the window, but he wants to add another slightly younger and more dynamic alternative in order to add more variety in the final third.
Nketiah fits the bill well as the 22-year-old is a modern-day centre-forward who relies heavily on his speed and movement. The Londoner won’t lack any attacking support either, as Newcastle have already brought in creative right-back Kieran Trippier earlier in January.
With the Nketiah deal close to completion, the Magpies are closing in on Brighton & Hove Albion defender Dan Burn as well. Newcastle are further expected to sign Bruno Guimaraes after agreeing a deal with the Brazilian international, potentially paving the way for the Tyneside giants to complete a fantastic triple swoop.
It could go a long way towards a successful conclusion to Newcastle’s January transfer window, giving Eddie Howe and his men a fighting chance to survive the drop during the second half of the campaign.
