Newcastle United contact £25m star’s agent as Eddie Howe addresses winger crisis 

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Newcastle United are nailed on to sign a right-winger after losing depth in the January transfer window.

Eddie Howe will be desperate to add more bodies to his Newcastle United squad after selling two squad players and failing to sign replacements or improvements to his existing starting XI.

In the January transfer window, PSR meant Newcastle had to sell before buying. While the sales came, the purchases did not.

Newcastle sold Lloyd Kelly and Miguel Almiron in moves that could see them pocket around £31m. While things went well for Almiron at the start of his return to Atlanta United, Kelly’s first two games at Juventus were ones he would rather forget.

Italian media blasted Kelly after his Juventus debut against Como in the Serie A – there were claims that the 26-year-old “did not give confidence” to the Old Lady’s back line.

On Tuesday, Kelly made his Champions League debut against PSV Eindhoven and came up against Newcastle target Johan Bakayoko. It was the same story for him as Kelly failed to impress for Juventus.

Jacob Murphy is Howe’s only natural right-wing option. With Newcastle desperate to add more depth in that position, sporting director Paul Mitchell has learned how much he must spend to land an exciting Newcastle target.

Newcastle target Baris Alper Yilmaz asking price revealed

Galatasaray winger Baris Alper Yilmaz has impressed in the Turkish Super Lig this season. The 24-year-old has scored 10 goals in the league as Galatasaray look to win a 25th title.

Reports earlier in the campaign linked Yilmaz to Newcastle. However, the Magpies face a tough challenge in getting his signature.

According to Milliyet, Newcastle have made contact with Yilmaz’s agent over a £25 summer move – several Premier League clubs including Everton, Aston Villa and West Ham have followed suit.

The report also states that Napoli sent scouts to watch Galatasaray’s Europa League game against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. Yilmaz played all 90 minutes but failed to make an impact as the Turkish giants lost 4-1.

Geordie Boot Boys reported that Newcastle watched Yilmaz in January and the Turkish international was open to a Premier League move in January. The move never materialised but a summer deal can still be done.

• READ MORE: All of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United signings, ranked

Baris Alper Yilmaz’s stats compared to Jacob Murphy at Newcastle

In a time when Howe needed someone to step up, Murphy has done exactly that this season. The 29-year-old has scored four goals and bagged eight assists in the Premier League this season – his best-ever attacking return since joining the Magpies in 2017.

Newcastle have alternative options to play on the wing including William Osula and Harvey Barnes. However, they are much better suited to other positions where they are more likely to impress.

This season, Murphy has been much more of a team player compared to Yilmaz – his work providing assists to the likes of Alexander Isak has been admirable.

Yilmaz has outperformed Murphy in front of goal, however. Howe will be keen to add more firepower to his squad to ensure there is more goalscoring threat to his squad. Newcastle have the lowest number of different goalscorers in the Premier League this season with eight.