According to HLN.be, Newcastle are interested in Club Brugge’s Emmanuel Dennis.
What’s the story?
The Belgium outlet has named the Toon as one of the clubs pursuing the 22-year-old. The other sides mentioned are Borussia Dortmund, Sheffield United and Watford.
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The report also adds that any interested outfit will need to part with €25m (£21.1m) to prise him away.
More than Almiron
Newcastle’s current transfer record stands at £40m, which they paid for striker Joelinton last summer. However, just six months earlier, they ended a 14-year wait to better the £16m sum they parted with for Michael Owen in 2005. Last January, Paraguay international Miguel Almiron set them back £20m.
Dennis, therefore, would be the second most expensive player in the club’s history. But the question is, would he warrant such a fee? Compared to Neymar in the past, he caught the eye against Real Madrid in the Champions League in October, scoring twice as the unfancied Belgian side earned a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu – and even that came after they had led 2-0.
However, as a centre-forward, he does not score as many goals as he should. He has struck just eight times in all competitions so far this term, with five of them coming in the Jupiler League. His career record to date does not stand out – his highest league tally stands at seven, showing that even whilst playing in the top tiers in Belgium and Ukraine – two divisions way off the quality of the Premier League – he has failed to be prolific.
He is a keen dribbler – he averaged 2.7 per Champions League match this season – but that is not what the Magpies need. For a start, they already have Allan Saint-Maximin to take up that role – he has averaged 4.4 dribbles per league game this campaign – and, also, they are crying out for a striker who can put the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis. Joelinton has just one goal in 25 matches in the league this term. That is not good enough.
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Spending such a big fee on Dennis – by Newcastle standards – makes no sense. Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce should really look elsewhere.
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