Newcastle set their sights on Simon Moses as they plan a 20m bid for him in the summer

ENGLISH Premier League big boys Newcastle United have become the latest club to have set their sights on Super Eagles winger Moses Simon with a planned £20m bid for him when the summer transfer window opens.

Simon, 26, enjoyed a spectacular January in Cameroon, where he helped the Super Eagles record three wins in four matches at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. By a long way, he was Nigeria's best player at the tournament, carrying on his good club form where he had been Nantes’ top performer, producing one match-winning display after another.

Just before the January transfer window closed, Leeds United tried to prose Moses away from his French club Nantes but the deal fell through. Newcastle who now have very deep pockets after being bought by an Arab consortium last year, are now planning to return for the winger who they had previously sought.

Able to operate across the frontline, Simon has been described by Goal as more a winger than an inside forward but stylistically he is more an inside forward than a winger. Unlike the pure winger, he starts on the wrong side and unlike an inside forward, he is not as focused on either taking up goalscoring positions or creating shots for himself.

Statistically Simon has been compared with the likes of Demarai Gray and Bukayo Saka in a Premier League context, although the Everton and Arsenal stars have produced more in the ways of goals this season.  A Goal article in Simon also praises his work rate and defensive application.

Back in 2020, Newcastle had planned a €17m bid for Simon but the deal failed to materialise. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also said to be a big fan of Simon, so come the summer, there may be a three-way bidding war for the winger between Newcastle, Leeds and Liverpool.