'Really happy' - Premier League manager has already outlined 'stance' on Newcastle United 'target'

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is believed to be in the market for a striker in the January transfer window and one player that is supposedly high on his radar is Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke, according to reports from The Telegraph.

The outlet explains that the Magpies have made an initial approach over the possibility of signing Solanke, who is one one the in-form strikers in the Premier League with 12 goals from his opening 19 appearances - sitting third in the scoring charts behind only Erling Haaland (14) and Mohamed Salah (14). 

Howe has been an admirer of the 26-year-old for a number of years and he famously brought Solanke to the Vitality Stadium in 2019 for a fee of £19m. At the time of the deal, Howe gave a glowing review of Solanke and spoke candidly about the striker's potential. The interview at the time gives an indication of the skills that he could bring to St James’ Park if he he was to join the likes of Alexander Isak and former team mate Callum Wilson in attack.

“Dominic is technically gifted, very athletic and has the physical profile that will give us something different in our front line,” said Howe.

Solanke had a difficult start to his journey at Bournemouth and was limited to just 10 appearances in his first year due to injuries. The striker had hoped to form a partnership with Callum Wilson, but struggled for starts in his second season with 15 of his 32 appearances coming from the bench.

Many had questioned if Solanke was able to cope with the demands of top-flight football. However, a prolific two-year spell in the Championship, after Howe’s departure, allowed Solanke to excel as he thrived under the guidance of Newcastle’s current assistant boss Jason Tindall and later ex-Newcastle captain Scott Parker. Solanke’s 44 goals in 88 appearances fired the Cherries back to the top-flight at the second attempt.

As it stands Bournemouth have dismissed any enquiries to sell their leading scorer. Speaking to journalists in November, Iraola explained the club and the players stance for the January window.

"I think it's very good he received some recognition because I think he really deserves it," Iraola told BBC Sport. "He is the first one to work, the first one to try to help his team-mates.

"And it's not like he has played [only] the last two or three games very well - he has been really constant in his performances and he really deserves all the recognition. Obviously, I think he's really happy here. He has shown it also, renewing his contract not so much time ago. So I think it's really nice for us.

"The feeling I've had with him since day one has been very, very good. He has a lot of different skills. He can adapt to different ways of playing and he's very complete to be a number nine. Probably we talk more about him when he scores the goals but his performances have been more or less the same level since the first day of the season. It's a pleasure that we have him in the team."

The Cherries endured a miserable start to the season under new Iraloa, but have now established themselves as the joint most in-form team in the division and their 22 points from 10 games is only equalled by league leaders Liverpool.

Solanke has been a catalyst for Bournemouth’s upturn in fortunes which notably began with him scoring a brace in a 2-0 home victory against Newcastle. Howe and Tindall’s links to the player and the Magpies’ financial power means that this deal is far from over and it will be interesting to see if the North East giants return to the table in the coming weeks.