Newcastle United face transfer battle with Man City, Arsenal and Aston Villa for £28m-rated wonderkid
The latest transfer talk from St James Park as Newcastle United prepare for the January transfer window.
Newcastle United have been named as one of several clubs showing an interest in RB Salzburg wonderkid Oscar Gloukh.
The 14-times capped Israel international forged a fine reputation for himself at Maccabi Tel Aviv during the formative years of his career and earned a £5m move to Salzburg in January 2023 after they reportedly saw off interest from several big-name clubs across European football. Gloukh was quick to become the subject of praise from a number of pundits following his move to Austria, with former Austria Vienna and Borussia Dortmund boss Peter Stoger telling Sky Germany: "This is an extraordinary player. From the category of someone who can assess situations very well and has quick solutions. Also for his age, there’s a lot in there. He’s an exciting boy. I would be surprised if he doesn't bring a lot of money into Salzburg's coffers in the next few years. I think he can have a really great career."
Salzburg manager Gerhard Struber told Sport5 earlier this month: “He presents a great learning curve. He’s a high-profile player and he understands how he’s supposed to play without the ball. We’re very pleased with his development.” Maccabi Haifa academy coach Luis Vicente Mateo went a step further, telling the same outlet: "The greatest talent of Israeli football today is, of course, Oscar Gloukh. It's fair to say that Gloukh is now among the greatest talents of his entire generation, not just in Israel. Red Bull (Salzburg) have done it again.”
Gloukh has made a fine start to the new season and despite not scoring in Salzburg’s 2-1 home win against SCR Altrach on Saturday, he has five goals and three assists in just 14 appearances in all competitions in the opening two months of the campaign. He also helped his club overcome qualifying round ties against FC Twente and Dynamo Kyiv to reach the new look league stage of the Champions League - although they have made a poor start at that stage of the competition with defeats against Sparta Prague and Stade Brestois.
However, that has not stopped a whole host of major clubs from across Europe taking a keen interest in Gloukh and CaughtOffside have named Newcastle as one potential suitor after the Magpies were initially linked with a move for youngster prior to his move to Salzburg. They claim Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City are all keen to tempt Gloukh into a move to the Premier League - but face competition from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid and Bundesliga duo Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. Significantly, the same report suggests Salzburg ‘could open the door to a January transfer’ and are willing to listen to offers in the region of £28m. Gloukh is also said to be open to a move to the Premier League and could become the latest big money sale involving a young player from one of the Red Bull clubs.