Newcastle transfer news: Fresh 'marquee signing' claim emerges over 119-goal 'great player' | OneFootball

Journalist Keith Downie reckons that ex-Fulham striker Moussa Dembele would be a "marquee" signing for Newcastle.

Eddie Howe is desperately trying to improve his squad this month given Newcastle's position in the Premier League table, with a striker near the top of his priority list.

Lyon's Dembele is currently on their radar and whilst Downie couldn't provide a concrete update on the Magpies' pursuit, he admitted that signing the Frenchman would be a real statement.

What's the latest news with Dembele?

Newcastle have been linked with a host of strikers since the window opened, and according to the Daily Mail, Dembele is on that list.

Dembele is no stranger to English football fans. He scored 19 goals for Fulham between 2014 and 2016 before he earned a move to Celtic, where he would bag another 54 in under 100 appearances.

His outstanding goalscoring record caught the attention of French giants Lyon, who paid £19.7m for his services. Dembele would repay them by scoring 20+ goals in each of his first two seasons.

However, the last two years have been a struggle for the 25-year-old, who endured a failed loan move to Atletico Madrid last season, whilst he's scored just four goals in 12 matches this term.

But Dembele has an fine record at Fulham, Celtic and Lyon, netting 119 goals in total in under 300 games. Therefore, Downie reckons that Dembele, who was compared to the likes of Ronaldo, Raul, and Thierry Henry by Zinedine Zidane back in 2017, would be a huge coup for Newcastle.

What did Downie say about Dembele?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "I don't have any news on whether they have gone for him, but I think he would be a marquee signing. He's a great player, he can play up front on his own."

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How big of a coup would this be for Newcastle?

Make no mistake, this would be a sensational signing for Newcastle.

Dembele, who's liked by both Howe and Nick Hammond, has serious European pedigree and whilst he has never played in the Premier League, he has proven himself in the Champions League, notably scoring twice against Manchester City in the 2019-2020 quarter finals.

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Furthermore, Dembele has pretty much scored goals wherever he has gone, besides a short spell in Madrid that didn't go as planned. Therefore, if Newcastle can get this one over the line, it would send a clear message out to their relegation rivals that they mean business this month.