Newcastle United return to action in the Premier League this evening as they prepare to welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to St. James’ Park.
A win for the hosts would send them into the top four and above Chelsea after the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
Eddie Howe’s side head into this clash with struggling Wolves off the back of a 3-1 win over League Two side Bromley in the FA Cup last time out, thanks to goals from Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon, and Will Osula.
Whilst the English head coach will be keenly focused on getting results in the Premier League as the Magpies go in search of Champions League qualification for a second time in his tenure, he will also have one eye on the market.
The January transfer window has been open for two weeks now and Newcastle could look to bolster their squad, or put in the work ahead of doing deals in the summer.
In fact, the Magpies are reportedly interested in signing a player from one of their Premier League rivals, but it may be a deal that drags on to the end of the season.
Newcastle interested in Premier League forward
Speaking on The United Stand, as relayed by The Boot Room, journalist Ben Jacobs claimed that Newcastle are keen on a swoop for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo.
The reporter has revealed that the Magpies have made an approach to sign the Cameroon international, but they are not planning to make a bid for him in the current transfer window.
Jacobs said: “Brentford don’t want to sell, that is the first thing. Newcastle are the only team who have made any sort of concrete approach, no bid for January, but they’re looking at Mbeumo for over the summer.”
The journalist went on to add that Manchester United may have the left-footed dynamo on their shortlist of targets because of Dan Ashworth’s short time with the club, as Mbuemo was also one of his targets during his spell with the Magpies.
Ahead of the January transfer window, Football Insider reported that Liverpool and Arsenal are also interested in signing the 25-year-old star, who is valued at around £60m by Brentford.
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This suggests that Newcastle could face some serious competition for his signature at the end of the season, if the Reds and the Gunners retain their interest and make a move for him in the summer.
It also shows how much the Magpies could need to splash out to secure his services and it remains to be seen whether or not the club are willing to pay that kind of money for him.
The board should sanction a £60m swoop for the Bees sensation, though, because he could be Howe’s own version of Liverpool and Premier League superstar Mohamed Salah.
Bryan Mbeumo compared to Mo Salah
Last month, Mbeumo produced a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Newcastle in the top-flight and talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy described him as a “mini-Salah” in his analysis of the match.
Both Mbeumo and Salah are similar in style as left-footed attackers who predominantly play on the right wing and look to cut inside onto their stronger foot to make things happen at the top end of the pitch.
As you can see in the chart above, ‘mini-Salah’ is an accurate description of the Brentford forward because he is statistically similar to the Liverpool star in terms of style, but the Egypt international’s output in front of goal is significantly greater.
The former Chelsea attacker has racked up a staggering 18 goals and 13 assists in 20 appearances in the Premier League this season, leading the division in both statistics.
Salah provides a consistent threat in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals and Newcastle have not had that in the right wing position for a number of years.
Whilst they are not going to tempt the Egypt international to make the switch from Merseyside to Tyneside, Howe could land the club’s own mini-version of the superstar by signing Mbeumo.
Why Newcastle should sign Bryan Mbeumo
The Magpies could improve their team by swooping to sign the £60m-rated attacker in the summer ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, when they will, hopefully, have Premier League and Champions League football on offer.
Jacob Murphy has been the first-choice option for Howe on the right flank so far this season and the former Norwich man has provided a big threat as a creator, with nine ‘big chances’ created for the team in 17 appearances.
However, the 29-year-old attacker has only scored three goals in those 17 matches and Newcastle could upgrade their frontline by bringing in a forward who offers more as a goalscorer week-in-week-out.
Murphy has only scored 14 goals in 167 Premier League appearances for the club to date and Mbeumo has already managed 13 goals in the division just this season, whilst playing in the same position.
Appearances
21
17
xG
6.56
2.32
Goals
13
3
Big chances created
10
9
Key passes per game
2.0
1.3
As you can see in the table above, the Brentford star has significantly outperformed the Newcastle winger in the top-flight this term, with 23 goals and ‘big chances’ created compared to Murphy’s 12.
He is in the best form of his Premier League career, with a tally of 13 goals, but also carried a big goal threat in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns for the Bees, hitting 18 league goals across both seasons combined.
These statistics suggest that Mbeumo, who could be Howe’s own mini-Salah cutting in from the right wing, could be a big upgrade on Murphy as a scorer and a creator of goals, to improve Newcastle’s chances of winning matches by providing a bigger threat in the final third.
At the age of 25, the Cameroon international is also four years younger than the Englishman and could come in with development still to go through with the help of Howe’s coaching, which means that he could be a fantastic long-term addition as well as an immediate upgrade for the team.
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