Newcastle simply cannot wait until summer for Jarrod Bowen

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Newcastle have been linked with Hull’s Jarrod Bowen for a while, and a new Daily Star report claims Bruce wants him, but may wait until summer to agree a deal.

Bowen is one of the top prospects in the Championship, and underlined that with a quickfire double to salvage a point for the Tigers at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

He has scored a superb 11 league goals this season, from just 17 games, making him the second top scorer in the division.

If Bruce is genuinely keen on signing him – and why would he not be – he simply cannot afford to wait until the summer, and must pull out all the stops to bring him to the club in January.

Bowen’s reputation seems to grow with every game he plays, and his form is sure to have alerted other Premier League clubs, with Southampton also said to have a long-term interest in the winger.

Since the start of last season, Bowen has score a total of 33 goals from 63 league games, which highlights the player’s talent, while suggesting that he is just too good a player to be playing in the second tier.

Bowen’s fee is unlikely to decrease between January and the summer

His contract expires at the end of the season, but Hull have an option to extend it for another year – which they are surely going to do – while reports also say they have offered him a new deal to stay at the club.

So whether Newcastle try to buy him in January, or the summer, the fee is unlikely to decrease, which means they need to prioritise a deal as soon as possible.

If the second half of Bowen’s season goes as well as his last season and a half – and there is no reason to think it will not – he will be in high demand in the summer.

If one of the Premier League big guns gets involved, it could see him opt to go somewhere other than Tyneside, despite him unlikely to get the amount of minutes on the pitch he would at Newcastle.

So if Bruce opts to wait until the summer, he runs the very real risk of missing out on signing a player that could seriously transform our attacking fortunes, not just this year, but for seasons to come.

January is just around the corner, and it must be hoped that Bruce is already in contact with his former club, and the player’s agents in a bid to have a deal ready to be completed as soon as the window opens.