Newcastle United £25m transfer target sees value surge after replacing Cristiano Ronaldo

The 21-year-old Benfica forward was scouted by Newcastle and even scored against Eddie Howe’s side in a 3-2 pre-season friendly win in Portugal back in July. Before the start of the season Benfica were understood to be willing to sell Ramos for around £25million plus various add-ons.

But the young forward has made an impressive start to the 2022-23 campaign with 14 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions so far. His form was rewarded with a call-up to the Portugal senior squad for the first time ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

After scoring on his national team debut in a 4-0 friendly win against Nigeria ahead of the tournament, Ramos was selected ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal’s crucial last-16 tie against Switzerland.

The gamble from head coach Fernando Santos to drop Portugal's all-time top scorer in place of a 21-year-old who had only made his debut days before the tournament was certainly an interesting one – but it most certainly paid off. Ramos scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup in emphatic fashion as Portugal strolled to a 6-1 win to secure a quarter-final tie against Morocco.

In turn, Newcastle and Switzerland defender Fabian Schar was sent home after reaching the last-16 for a third successive tournament. Schar will now have a short break before returning to Newcastle ahead of the side getting back into competitive action.

For club and country this season, Ramos has scored 18 goals and assisted seven in just 25 outings. And his exploits on the global stage this week are sure to turn heads with the January transfer window fast approaching.

Benfica were understood to be looking to tie the forward down to a new long-term deal at the club. He currently has a release clause in excess of £100million.

Although Ramos’ release clause is highly unlikely to be triggered in January, Benfica’s potential asking price will be significantly inflated from the £25million fee reported in the summer.

Portuguese outlet A Bola has claimed Newcastle, along with Manchester United and Bayern Munich have been monitoring Ramos’ progress. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest were also linked with the youngster in the summer.