Dream Mbeumo alternative: Newcastle keen to sign "unplayable" £55m winger

Will Newcastle United be busy in this transfer window?

The Magpies snuck into the Champions League places on the final day of the Premier League season, thankful that Manchester United beat Aston Villa simultaneously, given that Eddie Howe’s side suffered a shock home defeat at the hands of Everton.

So, as the Toon Army prepare for a second Champions League campaign in just three seasons, they’re forecast to spend big this summer, with a new winger near the top of their agenda.

Newcastle chasing a new wide-attacker

The Toon are on the prowl to add Premier League-proven players to their squad this summer with reports over the last week or so signalling that they have made an enquiry for Brighton’s Joao Pedro.

Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga, one of the fastest players in the top-flight this season, is also on their radar, but perhaps they could seal a better signing than both of those players.

According to a report by Caught Offside, Newcastle are ‘keen’ to sign Justin Kluivert this summer, who they claim is valued at around £50m by Bournemouth, with Manchester United also noted as ‘long-time admirers’.

​​​​The 26-year-old scored 13 goals across all competitions for the Cherries this season, the most he has ever managed in a single campaign across his entire senior career, most memorably bagging a hat-trick at St James’ Park back in January.

Manager Andoni Iraola labelled his performance that day as “amazing”, while Kluivert’s form earned him a recall to the Dutch national team, starting against Bosnia in Zenica last November, thereby earning a first Netherlands cap for over six years.

So now, could Justin follow in the footsteps of his father Patrick by moving to Tyneside?

How Justin Kluivert compares to Bryan Mbeumo

As noted by Lee Ryder of the Chronicle back in January, Newcastle’s dream wide-attacking signing this summer is Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo but, according to David Ornstein of the Athletic, the Cameroonian ‘has decided he wants to join Manchester United’, with the Bees holding out for his £60m valuation.

Following Thomas Frank’s appointment as the new Tottenham manager, Sami Mokbel of BBC Sport now believes that Spurs are ‘interested’ in securing Mbeumo’s signature but, either way, it appears unlikely that Newcastle will land their first-choice target.

So, would Kluivert be the ideal alternative for the Magpies?

Well, safe to say both these wingers really impressed in the Premier League this season, so let’s assess how they compared to each other.

As the table outlines, Mbeumo did score more goals and register more assists this season, albeit the Cameroonian did finish top of the goals – xG metric in this season’s Premier League, which may suggest his productivity is not sustainable.

Meantime, Kluivert registered more shots and more shot-creating actions on a per-90 basis, while his other statistics are comparable across the board, including shots on target percentage and touches per-90, while missing fewer Opta-defined big chances.

He was also praised for his ‘unplayable’ displays for the Cherries this season, having taken his game to a new level.

Thus, while Mbeumo may be Newcastle’s dream target, Kluivert would appear to be a very exciting alternative.

So, as Howe seeks to bolster his squad, hoping that the Magpies will be able to compete in both the Premier League and Champions League concurrently during the next campaign, Kluivert would certainly add quality to their forward line.

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