Newcastle’s hunt for a new No 9 may have to be put on hold
Goncalo Ramos and Darwin Nunez
Newcastle United’s goalscoring problems may not be solved by a summer signing despite the ongoing issues facing Eddie Howe.
The Magpies’ issues in the 2025/26 season were laid bare after never properly recovering from the turbulence of Alexander Isak going on strike and forcing a move to Liverpool.
Newcastle landed a British record fee for the Swedish superstar, but found that £125million burning a hole in their pocket caused more problems than it found solutions. It was one thing having cash to spend, but finding the right player to spend it on was a completely different prospect.
Last summer, only a handful of top-class forwards were available for transfer. Newcastle tried to sign pretty much them all but lost out to Chelsea for Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, Man United for Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo, and Liverpool for Hugo Ekitike.
Instead, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade were brought in for a combined £124m late in the window as the Magpies were backed into a corner.
Alan Shearer has called for Newcastle to bring in more firepower. “I think signing a striker for Newcastle is crucial in this transfer window, but you name me a club that does not have a centre-forward that’s going to be crucial to their plans,” Shearer told Betfair.
“Out of the 20 Premier League clubs, I could give you 12 or 13 that are looking for that exact same player. And they’re all probably shopping in the same market. They’ve all got their scouting networks all over the world, looking for the next £70m-£80m player that will be sold in five or six years’ time, but everyone is after that.”
And that is the issue. Newcastle, should they look to move for a new No 9, will face a similar problem this summer. The quality – and volume – of strikers potentially available for transfer is light.
That hasn’t stopped Newcastle being linked with a handful. Darwin Nunez – set to leave the Saudi Pro League, potentially on a free transfer – is one who Newcastle have been keen on in the past; Goncalo Ramos, fresh from winning the Champions League again with Paris St-Germain, is another player set for a move; then there is Chelsea duo Delap and Nicolas Jackson who the Magpies have scouted in the past.
Chronicle Live has been running a poll over the last month, asking readers and NUFC fans which of these four strikers they’d like to see Newcastle sign this summer.
Just edging ahead in the voting is Ramos. The Portuguese international turns 25 in June and has a great reputation, although he has found it difficult to break into PSG’s starting XI on a regular basis. Nevertheless, he played an important part in their Champions League final win over Arsenal, coming on as a substitute and also netting the first penalty in the shootout.
Ramos looks set to leave the French side this summer and the forward’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has already started discussions with clubs in Serie A over a potential transfer. Newcastle looked at the Portugal star when they were in need of a replacement for Isak and 22% of readers would like to see him signed this transfer window.
Second in the voting was Nunez with 21%. The former Liverpool frontman is set to leave Al-Hilal after falling victim to their foreign player registration rules. If he’s available on a free transfer it could be an attractive option but it still wasn’t enough to convince the majority of Newcastle fans he would be worth a punt.
In third place with just 8% was Delap, who has had a disastrous first season at Stamford Bridge. Newcastle wanted to make him Callum Wilson’s replacement last year, but it was Chelsea who took advantage of the player’s £30m release clause to sign him from Ipswich. Since then he has only notched two goals and could be on the move again. Having held talks with Howe previously, it could be a deal that is resurrected.
Only 6% of readers wanted Newcastle to sign Jackson. The Senegalese striker was Chelsea’s top scorer for two seasons running but was sent to Bayern Munich on loan where he hit 11 goals in 34 appearances (15 starts) across all competitions.
It’s fair to say that none of the options so far have impressed Newcastle fans. In fact, the biggest result in the poll was the ‘none of the above’ option which got 43% of the votes.
That probably reflects where Newcastle are at the moment too. With a limited pool of good calibre strikers available this summer, United are prioritising other positions – goalkeeper, right-back, centre midfield and a wide forward – with their transfer funds, rather than a No 9.
That could see William Osula entrusted with leading the line at the start of the new campaign. The Dane had a fine finish to the season, scoring five times in the last seven games after developing his game under the coaching of Graeme Jones.
With Wissa finding a bit of form and fitness in the latter stages of the season, Howe could go into the new term with the same options he finished the last one with – unless the market shifts and a real gem becomes available.