Newcastle United have already held 'very positive' talks with £38m Elanga alternative - player wants to join
Newcastle United are assessing their options after seeing a £45million bid for Anthony Elanga knocked back by Nottingham Forest.
Newcastle identified Elanga as a top target on the right wing, but Forest’s reluctance to sell the 23-year-old makes striking a deal difficult.
With valuations in excess of £60million doing the rounds for the likes of Elanga, Antoine Semenyo and Bryan Mbeumo this summer, there is an understanding that better value can be found on the continent.
Last year, Newcastle identified PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko as a potential option on the right wing. The 22-year-old contributed with 12 goals and three assists in 46 appearances for PSV during the 2024/25 season.
Bakayoko is valued at around £38million, but there are big question marks over the player, who saw his game time limited for PSV at the back end of the season.
Bakayoko started just one of the club’s final 10 Eredivisie matches and even requested to play for PSV’s second-string team for a match in order to get some minutes.
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Newcastle United consider Anthony Elanga alternatives
Sky Sports has named Bakayoko as an alternative to Elanga for Newcastle after seeing the initial £45million bid rejected.
Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus are also listed as players of interest to The Magpies. But a deal for Elanga still hasn’t been ruled out just yet.
Newcastle are desperate for a right winger with head coach Eddie Howe naming the position as one area the club would need to sign someone after selling Miguel Almiron to Atlanta United during the winter window. The Magpies operated with Jacob Murphy as the only natural right-winger in the squad for the second half of the campaign.
The 30-year-old stood up to the challenge and enjoyed an impressive season with nine goals and 14 assists to his name. Newcastle’s alternatives to Murphy, as things stand, are to play Harvey Barnes or Anthony Gordon out of position. So Howe is looking for a natural challenger on the right wing.
Johan Bakayoko liked by Newcastle United - but there are some reservations
Newcastle were first attracted to Bakayoko last year after an impressive 14-goal season with PSV. The winger also represented Belgium at the European Championships last summer.
But this season the winger has seen his form dip, with his playstyle of cutting in from the right onto his favoured left foot deemed ‘predictable’ by critics. Bakayoko dropping out of PSV’s starting XI coincided with an impressive run of nine wins in the club’s final 10 games to complete an unlikely comeback to snatch the Eredivisie title ahead of Ajax.
Ajax became the first European top flight side to fail to win the league title having held a nine point lead with five games remaining.
Last season, reports from Belgium claimed Newcastle were ‘very close’ in reaching an agreement in personal terms with Bakayoko. Voetbal Krant reported that ‘very positive’ talks took place between Bakayoko’s representatives and Newcastle over a potential transfer in December 2024, with the player keen to join.
PSV were unwilling to do business back in January but Bakayoko’s fall out of favour in recent months has softened their stance.
Bakayoko has ambitions of playing in one of Europe’s top leagues in the future and wants to be in ‘Ballon d’Or’ contention by the end of the decade.
In an interview with The Athletic last year, he said: “In the next five years, I want to be close to winning the Ballon d’Or. I’ll do my best and see where it can end, but I don’t want to give myself limits. I don’t want to say, ‘I remember when I won the Ballon d’Or’, or something like this. I want to keep going.”
While Bakayoko’s ambitions are clear, there was one statement he made about having an aversion to tracking back and helping out defensively that could get alarm bells ringing from a Newcastle perspective.
Murphy is such a valued player by Howe due to his ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch, something Bakayoko is not as willing to do.
He said: “I’m really happy and lucky I have a trainer [Peter Bosz, PSV manager] who gives me the freedom to do what I want because I really don’t [like tracking back]. It stops you from [trying to attack].”