Newcastle may have found their Chris Wood replacement in Youssoufa Moukoko

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Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing Youssoufa Moukoko this year, and that could be bad news for Chris Wood.

The 18-year-old striker emerged as a target earlier this week. The Evening Standard claimed that the Magpies have held talks with Moukoko over a possible £150,000-a-week move to St James’ Park.

His Borussia Dortmund contract is set to expire in the summer, opening up the possibility for him to leave the Bundesliga side on a free.

That has seemingly alerted Newcastle, who are keen to bring him to the North East. The Northern Echo have added to the story, stating that Dan Ashworth and co have prepared an offer in a bid to tempt the teenager to Tyneside.

While he might be on course to become a free agent, it is going to cost a lot of money to sign Moukoko. The wages reported by the Evening Standard have been backed up by German reporter Patrick Berger, who added that Newcastle also proposed a signing on fee of £26.5million.

Signing Moukoko would be a huge statement of intent. He is someone who could lead the team into the future, while it could also lead to a current Magpie leaving the club completely.

Youssoufa Moukoko can replace Chris Wood at Newcastle

Newcastle signed Chris Wood for £25million at the start of 2022. And while his performances have contributed to some impressive results in black and white, he has struggled for goals.

The 31-year-old has scored five times in total since his move from Burnley, which really isn’t enough. He should have six, but he missed an absolute sitter in the recent FA Cup exit to Sheffield Wednesday.

That miss could haunt him, and saw a lot of Toon fans turning on him on social media. But Eddie Howe is a fan of Wood, and called him ‘important‘ just before Christmas. It has been reported that the Toon boss wants to keep him at the club beyond this month.

However, it does feel like the writing will soon be on the wall for Wood. The Athletic reported last year that Newcastle will look to replace the New Zealander in 2023 with a younger striker.

That brings us back to Moukoko, who is a striker, and a lot younger than Wood. If he makes a dramatic move to Tyneside then it could be the end of the road for Wood.

Signing the Germany international would mean Newcastle have four first-team strikers. That would be far too many.

In truth, it is difficult to see where Moukoko fits in alongside Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, but the club seem to be keen on whatever young talent they can get.

While Moukoko and Wood are completely different players, the youngster could be the man to replace him. In terms of pure numbers, Moukoko has more goals this season with six. And he has the potential to get better and better. He could end up replacing Wilson too.

Any new striker arrival is going to threaten Wood’s position at St James’ Park. But getting one of the most exciting teenagers in world football would surely mean the end of the road for Newcastle’s number 20.