Newcastle United target £18m-rated 23-year-old ex-Manchester City Portugal international

The 23-year-old Portugal international is one of Bruce’s key targets, with Newcastle’s scouting team having watched the ex-Manchester City man on several occasions, according to a report in the Northern Echo.

Lopes spent four years with City’s youth teams but departed Manchester after making just five senior appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Whilst at Monaco, Lopes bagged a career-best 17 goals in the 2017-18 season – which lead to a big-money £18m move to Sevilla earlier in the summer.

Speaking on transfers, Bruce explained: “I’ll sit down with Steve (Nickson) and try to identify some real quality that can make us better. We’ll be looking for that little bit of quality that can make us better, you’ve seen that with Joelinton and Allan (Saint-Maximin) at the top of the pitch.”