Fair to say, it’s been a pretty miserable summer for Newcastle United supporters so far.
Let’s start with the positives; they have signed Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale, with the latter saving a penalty during Friday night’s pre-season friendly against Espanyol at St James’ Park.
One man who remains conspicuous by his absence is, of course, Alexander Isak, yet to feature at all during pre-season, as he pushes for a move to Liverpool.
Thus, as Eddie Howe’s team brace themselves for life without the superstar Swede, have they identified their ideal replacement?
Newcastle's search for a new striker
As has been widely reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic and many others, Newcastle found themselves in a head-to-head battle with Manchester United for striker Benjamin Šeško, with the Slovenian choosing to go to Old Trafford instead.
He is simply the latest in a long line of players Newcastle have been rather publicly and ignominiously turned down by during this window, including strikers Hugo Ekitiké, Liam Delap and João Pedro, to name but a few, so have they turned their attention to a new target?
Well, according to Graeme Bailey of TBR Football, Newcastle United have been offered the chance to sign Samu Aghehowa from Porto.
Adam Crafton and Ornstein of The Athletic add that the Magpies are ‘considering’ making a move for the 21-year-old, who is reportedly valued at around £65m by the 30-time Portuguese champions.
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So, could the Spaniard soon swap the Estádio do Dragão for Tyneside?
What Samu Aghehowa would bring to Newcastle
First and foremost, to avoid confusion, worth stating up front that, up until November last year, he was known as Omorodion, but requested to go by Aghehowa henceforth, his maternal surname, in honour of his mother.
On the pitch too, he’s had an interesting start to his burgeoning career.
On the opening day of the 2023/24 La Liga season, then a teenager, he marked his senior debut with a goal for Granada against Atlético Madrid during a 3-1 defeat at the Metropolitano.
Well, los Colchoneros were so impressed that they signed the unknown youngster just a few days later, paying his €6m (around £5.1m) buyout clause, although he would never actually play for Atleti.
He was immediately loaned out to Deportivo Alavés, scoring eight La Liga goals for los Blanquiazules, including netting home and away against Barcelona, which certainly caught the attention of clubs around Europe.
On the back of this, Chelsea agreed to pay £34m to secure his signature last summer, but the deal collapsed at the 11th hour due to ‘major problems… finalising’ the striker’s contract, supposedly relating to image rights.
Instead, he joined Porto for a reported fee of £12.7m, where he has taken his game to a new level.
In the last 12 months, the 21-year-old has become a full Spain international, debuting against Switzerland in Tenerife last November, before also coming off the bench during June’s Nations League semi-final victory over France.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout was certainly impressed by his performances in Portugal, labelling Aghehowa a “monster”, praising his “pace, physicality and aerial ability”.
Meantime, Elias Burke and Gillian Kasirye of the Athletic document how he is the ‘prototype’ of a modern-day centre-forward, given that the Spaniard is ‘tall, quick, and physically imposing’, noting that he also possesses ‘exceptional pace’ and ‘excellent off-ball positioning’ in the penalty area.
Nevertheless, the question still remains; would he be a better signing than Šeško? Let’s compare the duo to find out.
Appearances
45
45
Minutes
3,400
3,258
Goals
27
21
Assists
3
6
Goals – xG
+6.6
+2.8
Shots on target %
41.2%
47.5%
Shots per 90
2.83
2.92
Big chances missed
25
18
Big chances created
7
7
Shot-creating actions
64
58
% of touches in penalty area
20.4%
10.4%
Average SofaScore rating
6.99
6.92
As the table documents, in a near-identical number of minutes, the pair’s statistics are remarkably similar across the board.
The Spaniard scored more goals and overperformed his expected goals by an impressive amount, while the fact he takes over 20% of his touches inside the opposition’s penalty area underlines his poachers’ instincts.
Worth noting that Aghehowa was playing at a slightly lower level; according to Global Football Rankings, the Primeira Liga is the seventh-strongest league in the world, four places below the Bundesliga.
Also, Porto were, and still are, stuck in the Europa League, while RB Leipzig competed in last season’s Champions League, albeit the Spaniard did score six times in nine European appearances, also netting twice during the Club World Cup back in June.
Thus, with Šeško snubbing a possible move to Tyneside, Aghehowa appears to be the next-best option on the market, so it would be smart for Newcastle to turn their attention to the Spain international.
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