Newcastle United ‘make’ £25m move for Euro 2024 winner with Premier League experience
Newcastle have set their sights on an attacker who once fired in a hat-trick against them
Newcastle United fans are still waiting for the club’s transfer business to explode into life, and nearly a month has passed since the dreaded PSR deadline which resulted in the double departure of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest.
So far, Eddie Howe’s side have made four signings with Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos all arriving in the first month of the transfer window.
Hall’s move concludes a £28m arrangement that was made with Chelsea at the start of last season, while Ruddy and Vlachodimos are both expected to act as deputies to Nick Pope amid speculation over the long-term future of Martin Dubravka and the already confirmed exit of Loris Karius.
Realistically speaking, barring an injury crisis, the only real upgrade from last season’s squad so far is Kelly, whose signing comes as a real boost given the long-term injury woes of Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles.
Many fans are pining for improvement on the right side of attack after a season without European football, and Newcastle's first marquee move could be about to come in the form of Euro 2024 winner Ferran Torres, according to reports.
Spanish outlet Fichajes understands that the Magpies have submitted a bid of £25m for the Barcelona forward, whose future at the Nou Camp is expected to come under threat, given Hansi Flick’s interest in signing Nico Williams this summer.
Torres is a familiar face to most Newcastle fans due to his time in the Premier League with Manchester City. The 24-year-old joined the Citizens from Valencia in 2020 for a reported figure of £20m and quickly became an important part of the team which lifted the Premier League and EFL Cup whilst reaching the Champions League final in the process.
The Spanish winger, who can also play as a centre forward, struck 13 goals and three assists from 36 matches in his debut season including a notable hat-trick at St James’ Park in a 4-3 win against the Magpies.
Torres was expected to be an important player in years to come at the Etihad, but just months into his second season after falling down the pecking order, he confirmed his intention to join Barcelona and subsequently left in January 2021 for a figure in the region of £55m.
The young forward has since gone on to lift one league title and a cup since making the move to Catalonia. He has an overall goal record of 25 in 113 appearances, though 11 of those did come this term before Xavi’s departure.
Torres has statistically been one of Spain’s most important players in the Luis de la Fuente era with 20 goals in 46 caps. He played five times at Euro 2024 in total and was able to register one goal, but lost his starting place due to the emergence of teammate Lamine Yamal and potential replacement Williams.
The 24-year-old does not yet know if he will be a part of the new-look Barcelona team and could see regular football at St James’ Park as the perfect platform to restore his reputation as a starter for his country.