Newcastle United have reportedly been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Luis Muriel as the Colombian is not considering a move to St James’ Park.
According to Alfredo Pedulla, Atalanta and Colombia centre-forward Luis Muriel has no interest in leaving the Serie A outfit Newcastle United in the ongoing transfer window.
Newcastle United are on the hunt for a new No. 9 this summer as they look to add more depth and quality to their attacking unit. As things stand, the Magpies have Callum Wilson and Chris Wood as their options in the centre-forward position.
Wilson has proven himself to be a reliable operator, but his injury issues are a cause for concern for manager Eddie Howe. Meanwhile, Wood is not prolific enough in front of goal since his arrival at St James’ Park during the January transfer window. Hence, it makes sense for the Tyneside outfit to look for another striker to add more firepower to their frontline.
Hugo Ekitike had been Newcastle United’s top target for the major part of this summer, but the French youngster backed out of a move to England and joined Paris Saint-Germain instead. Since then, Newcastle have been looking at several options in the market, having been linked with Chelsea duo Armando Broja and Timo Werner, while Red Bull Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko has been a key target too.
However, Broja is likely to stay put at Chelsea, whereas Werner and Sesko are both headed to RB Leipzig. Thus, Newcastle have been forced to look at alternatives, with Luis Muriel emerging as one.
The 31-year-old has been a consistent source of goals for Atalanta since joining them in 2019, racking up 59 goals in 128 matches. An experienced individual, Muriel also has more than 40 caps for the Colombian national team. While he would not be a long-term solution by any means, the striker would have made for a handy option for Newcastle due to his goalscoring acumen.
But, as per Alfredo Pedulla, Muriel is not considering the prospect of joining the Magpies this summer. The 31-year-old is aware that even Juventus are interested in his signing and would prefer to see how the situation develops on that front before taking a call on his future. But, a move to Newcastle is not in the striker’s thoughts, dealing a blow to the Tyneside giants’ hopes of landing him.
