Report: Newcastle make first move in bid to sign ‘fantastic’ £25m striker, contact now opened

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Newcastle United have made contact over Alvaro Morata according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Yesterday we reported that the Magpies were looking to sign the Spaniard. It appears there has been further progress and the Toon have made their first move to sign the forward.

However, the same La Gazzetta dello Sport report states that Juventus (where he spent the last two seasons on loan), Barcelona and Arsenal are some of the clubs interested in Morata. His former manager Antonio Conte labelled him back in 2017 as ‘fantastic’, per Fotmob.

Up-front is one of the areas where the Magpies are looking to strengthen this summer. Newcastle’s attacking options currently are Callum Wilson, Chris Wood and Dwight Gayle. But Wilson has had injury problems and Wood has struggled for consistency. Gayle, meanwhile, has hardly played under Eddie Howe, he’ll likely be sold when the window opens.

Newcastle should stay away from the services of Morata

With other clubs interested in Morata, the Magpies should stay away. If Newcastle made contact over the striker, it’s a big mistake.

Atletico Madrid wants to sell the Spanish international for a fee of around £30 million per the La Gazzetta dello Sport. That price is not worth paying for Morata. He previously struggled in the Premier League with Chelsea. Despite going for a number of high fees throughout his career, the forward has yet to become a top striker in Europe.

In the same report it states that Juventus want to offer around £13 million, plus add-ons for the striker. So it’s clear that the price set by the La Liga side is too high.

Considering his potentially high fee, it’s clear that if Newcastle make contact with Morata, or has done so already, it should stop there. The Magpies are in need of a forward this summer. But there are plenty of other options they can look to pursue.

Signing Stade Reims forward Hugo Ekitike would ease the problem. He’s young and had an outstanding campaign in Ligue 1, making him one of the highest-scoring teenagers in Europe. The forward would be beneficial to Newcastle’s attacking options.

Ekitike could learn a lot from Wilson, who’s proven at Premier League level. Additionally, he could be a great alternative for Newcastle off the bench or should the England international get injured.