Newcastle ‘initiate’ talks to sign a third striker in January as Eddie Howe contends with injury crisis

Newcastle United are preparing for another challenging phase of the season as a Premier League home match against Arsenal is sandwiched between two challenging mid-week away matches at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Eddie Howe’s side are determined to be as successful as possible in all competitions, but must be careful to manage their squad depth - particularly in attack as they have just one fit and available striker at the moment in Callum Wilson. Record signing Alexander Isak is currently out of the team with a groin injury and given the past injury record of Wilson, it is likely that they will look to deploy Anthony Gordon as a makeshift striker in at least one of the games.

Newcastle’s struggles with squad depth have amplified speculation of a summer move for a striker and one name that is believed to have caught the eye of the recruitment team is Brazilian centre forward Marcos Leonardo.

The Santos attacker has been on Newcastle’s radar for a number of months and has also garnered interest from Italian giants Roma, according to The Chronicle.

Leonardo broke into the Santos first team when he was just 17 years old and progressed to become the club’s main striker during the 2022 season when he scored 13 goals in 35 league matches.

He continued that strong form last term by scoring 13 goals in 24 appearances. The Brazilian’s form has attracted international recognition and he boasts an incredible record of 15 goals in 13 games at U20 level - while also winning the Silver Boot at the U20 World Cup with five goals in five games at the tournament.

Premier League Brasil report that Newcastle have held informal talks with the players’ representatives ahead of a possible move in January. The outlet also suggests that his existing contract contains an obligation for a sale in the next window and the player is reportedly valued somewhere in the region of £20m.