If Newcastle United were desperate for a marquee signing this summer, they could have bought Jack Grealish.
Many pundits have said that Grealish would be perfect for Newcastle United, as the England international prepares to call time on his Manchester City career.
There were bogus claims earlier this summer that Newcastle wanted Grealish on loan, but that never felt likely.
Instead, the 29-year-old is set to sign for Everton, with Fabrizio Romano breaking the news that he is set for a medical with David Moyes’ side.
Newcastle United want Bilal El Khannouss
All the while, Newcastle United have their eyes on a very different attacking midfielder.
That is according to the Telegraph’s John Percy on X, who has stated that the Magpies are interested in signing Bilal El Khannouss from Leicester City.
The 21-year-old was a shining light in an extremely poor Leicester City side that suffered relegation, and Newcastle could hand El Khannouss an immediate route back to the Premier League.
The Morocco international is available for a rather decent fee, with TalkSPORT reporting in July that he has a relegation release clause in his contract worth £22.5million.
That fee will make him very appealing to Newcastle United, who are ‘looking at a possible deal’.
Newcastle United are thinking longer term as they ignore Jack Grealish
Newcastle United do need an attacking midfielder. They need someone at St James’ Park who can operate in central areas and break down stubborn defences.
In that respect, a move for Grealish would have made sense.
However, he is not the type of player that Newcastle United want to recruit. His wage demands are astronomical, while the Magpies rarely sign players that are in and around the same age as Grealish. It is not that he is over the hill at 29, but Newcastle want better value.
That is exactly what they will get if they are able to strike a deal for El Khannouss. He showed real promise with the Foxes last season, scoring three goals and providing five assists in a struggling team.
The youngster has started this season brightly too, helping himself to two assists as Leicester beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in their first Championship game of the season.
El Khannouss is a player with a lot of potential, and he would be in a great position to realise that potential if he starts working with Eddie Howe. We all know how good the Newcastle United manager is at improving players.
Signing him could be a real masterstroke from the Newcastle United recruitment team, who opted to ignore the noise surrounding a possible deal for Grealish.
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