Newcastle United may have secured a 1-0 win over Southampton in their opening Premier League clash of the season, but the performance was far from pretty, despite playing most of the game with ten men.
Eddie Howe is under pressure to return the club to Europe this season, yet he will need to make a signing or two between now and the end of the transfer window to add some quality to his team, especially in the forward areas.
Plenty of players have been linked, including Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, but could Howe turn to La Liga in order to strengthen his starting XI?
Newcastle United chasing late move for La Liga star
According to Football Insider, the Magpies are ready to submit an attractive offer in order to secure the services of Barcelona forward Ferran Torres before the end of the transfer window.
Journalist Pete O’Rourke claims that the Catalan side are willing to listen to any offers for the Spaniard as they look to free up some funds, but Torres appears to be content at the club.
Could an attractive offer entice him to swap Spain for England? Only time will tell. He would certainly be a better signing than Madueke, that’s for sure.
Ferran Torres’ season in numbers
Torres played 42 times for Barcelona last term, yet only 20 of those came from the starting XI. Despite this, the winger still managed to score 11 goals in all competitions while grabbing four assists, showcasing his talents in front of goal.
Madueke also made the majority of his appearances last term from the substitutes bench, appearing 34 times in total, with just 19 of those starts. He still managed eight goals and three assists, a decent figure.
Goals
7
Assists
2
Big chances created
2
Shots on target per game
0.5
Key passes per game
0.9
Total duels won
1.3
In their respective top-flight leagues last season, Torres registered more goal contributions (nine vs seven), shots on target per 90 (1.11 vsv1.03) and shot-creating actions (53 vs 51) than the Chelsea winger. While it may have been tight between the pair, Torres just edges out Madueke.
Torres also scored more frequently than the Chelsea starlet, netting once every 173 minutes compared to the goal every 216 minutes by the Englishman last term.
The Barcelona star would arrive at St James’ Park with prior Premier League experience too, having made a total of 28 appearances in the competition for Manchester City in just over a year, scoring nine times and grabbing three assists. Madueke, meanwhile, has chalked up just two goals and six assists in 35 top-flight games for the Blues.
His former boss, Xavi, lavished praise on the winger in 2022, saying: "Perhaps Ferran has surprised me the most. He's a player on another level, he's spectacular: how he understands the space, links play, doesn't lose the ball, his defensive work… he's world-class. He's a great signing, one I wanted, and a wonderful footballer."
Might a player of his quality be playing football in the Premier League come the end of the month?
Top target: Newcastle chasing £30m PL star who could be their own Saka
He would be a superb signing for Eddie Howe’s side.
ByEthan LambAug 18, 2024