Newcastle United make offer to sign Nottingham Forest forward Anthony Elanga | OneFootball

Newcastle United tabled an offer of £45 million for Nottingham Forest forward Anthony Elanga this morning, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein.

However, it was immediately knocked back by the City Ground club and it remains to be seen whether the St James’ Park club will return with another bid.

Newcastle want to strengthen the right side of their attack and are keen on recruiting the services of the Sweden international, but they also have the likes of Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus on their radar.

Elanga weighed in with six goals and 11 assists in 38 league appearances for Forest last term, and Magpies manager Eddie Howe could do with his quality and experience in the final third as he prepares for Champions League football next term.

The 23-year-old is a long-term target for Newcastle, and they were willing to pay a fee worth around £45m to acquire his services last summer.

They offered an initial £30m payment, a swap deal for their former winger Miguel Almiron (valued at £5m at the time) and two potential further payments of £5m, but their attempt was knocked back.

Newcastle will need quality depth in attack going forward after qualifying for the elite European competition, and landing Elanga would be huge, but Forest have no intention of selling their winger, which could see the Toons look elsewhere.

Apart from signing a right-sided forward, they also want to strengthen in other areas, and are hoping to sign a goalkeeper, a centre-back, a striker to play alongside Alexander Isak and possibly another central midfield player if one is sold this summer.

Newcastle are unlikely to be willing to pay more than £45m for a winger given their budget, and Howe will be looking at other options capable of improving his attack should Forest refuse to do business for Elanga.