Newcastle United have wanted to sign Ismaila Sarr for a long time, and this summer might be their best opportunity.
The Senegalese winger is now a Championship player again, having suffered relegation with Watford. He immediately becomes one of the best players in the second tier, but the Hornets don’t want to keep him.
According to the Express, Watford are ‘determined’ to move the 24-year-old on this summer.
And that’s something that might interest Newcastle given their search for a winger and previous links to Sarr.
Watford desperate to sell long term Newcastle target Ismaila Sarr
Eddie Howe is looking to sign a right winger this summer, and Sarr has been mentioned as a possible target. Sky Sports claimed last month that Newcastle could move for him if Moussa Diaby proved to be too expensive.
That is exactly what’s happened, but we are yet to hear of an attempt to make Sarr a Magpie.
He’s certainly a player who is admired at St James’ Park. He was previously linked last year heading into the January transfer window.
In fact, he was even a target before the takeover. Sarr was linked with a move to Newcastle in 2017 and 2019. Steve Nickson must be a fan of the speedster, and rightly so.
His fellow countryman Sadio Mane is also very fond of him, previously calling Sarr ‘rapid‘ and a ‘good dribbler‘.
Sarr is an exciting winger and someone who could prove to be a good signing for Howe. We would certainly be a lot more threatening with him on one wing and Allan Saint-Maximin on the other.
However, perhaps an attempt to sign him should be put on hold – for now.
One to watch later in the window
Given Watford’s desire to sell Sarr, perhaps we would be best biding our time. The longer we wait, the more desperate Watford will be to sell and the cheaper he could be.
He’s barely been mentioned in the press since the Diaby deal collapsed, with other targets such as Jack Harrison and Harvey Barnes emerging. However, they may prove to be too expensive as well.
But Sarr will surely be more affordable, especially given Watford’s desire to get rid before the transfer window closes.
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