Newcastle United could be about to break their transfer record.
Michael Owen is currently the most expensive transfer in the club’s history, after Newcastle paid £16.8m to sign the former England striker from Real Madrid in the 2005. However, they are one of the few Premier League teams not to fork out big money for players this season.
Yet, that could be about to change. According to The Guardian, Newcastle want to sign Nicolai Jorgensen from Feyenoord, and are prepared to break their transfer record to land the Danish striker.
The report claims that the club feel Feyenoord’s £20m asking price is slightly excessive, but they are prepared to spend more on the player than they did on Owen back in 2005. Newcastle are also said to have had a £14m bid for the 27-year-old striker rejected last week.
Jorgensen has 34 goals in 60 games for the Dutch side, and has eight goals in 28 appearances for the Danish national team. If Newcastle can’t sign him, they will reportedly try land Islam Slimani from Leicester City, who is also in the £20m price bracket.
It appears that the potential transfers will be largely funded by the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic. Brighton are understood to have bid £15m for the Newcastle striker, and manager Rafa Benitez will let him leave if they can secure a replacement.