Newcastle United plan daring bid for Victor Osimhen in January transfer window

ENGLISH Premier League giants Newcastle United have become favourites to sign Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen in the forthcoming January transfer window after the clubs' fans identified him as  the person who could end the team's current goalscoring drought.

According to local Newcastle paper The Chronicle, the club is considering putting in a bid for Osimhen, so, as it looks to strengthen in the final third of the pitch. Newcastle have found goals had to come by this season and Osimhen, who cannot stop scoring at the moment, is seen as the remedy to this problem if the club is to avoid relegation.

Osimhen has scored eight goals for his clubside Lille in France's Ligue One so far this season, including one in the Uefa Champions League and he was also named the Ligue One Player of the Month for September. Newcastle, meanwhile, have managed just five goals collectively in nine Premier League matches this season and coach Steve Bruce is under pressure to remedy the situation quickly.

According to The Chronicle, Osimhen has won 4.7 aerial duels per-game so far this season, going by statistics provided by WhoScored. This shows that he is strong in the air, which they say would be a huge asset to Newcastle given their style of play as Steve Bruce wants a target man to hold the ball up and win flick-ons.

Also, Osimhen is clinical in front of goal, as proven by his scoring record, leading the Newcastle fans to believe that he has a good chance of being a success if his team mates can create the opportunities for him. In addition, The Chronicle points out that Osimhen is only 20-years-old and has plenty of time left to improve as a player.

Coach Bruce will have money available to spend in January but is not putting too much emphasis on the winter window and may only look to make one or two changes at the start of 2020. He has said the club will assess the situation in the weeks ahead of January but with a summer clearout on the cards, his next big shopping spree is likely to be in the summer.

Bruce said: "We’ll start planning in the next couple of weeks but January is always a difficult window. We'll see what’s out there."

Apart from adding Osimhen to the attack, Newcastle is also believed to be keen on purchasing another central midfielder and a winger. Summer's clearout is expected to be comprehensive as the likes of Ki, Federico Fernandez, Rob Elliot and Javier Manquillo and Jack Colback will all see their deals run out and with no guarantees on contract extensions, meaning that among other things, the wage bill and squad size could be trimmed significantly.