Newcastle United warned not to ‘fall into trap’ of signing talented £40m Premier League star

Newcastle United are believed to be on the lookout for fresh attacking talent in January to boost the club’s European hopes after a substandard start to the new Premier League season.

The Magpies have scored just eight times this season, which is less than half the amount (20) that they had managed after eight matches at this stage last term.

Recent results, such as the 0-0 draw with Everton and the 1-0 home defeat to Brighton, have highlighted the club’s need for fresh flair and creativity - particularly on the right side of attack, where both Jacob Murphy and Miguel Almiron have failed to score a single goal across all competitions.

This has resulted in great speculation linking the club with a move for Bournemouth playmaker Antoine Semenyo after his impressive start to the new campaign. 

The 24-year-old has been at the forefront of almost everything good about the Cherries in recent weeks, and after registering 11 goals and three league assists since the start of last season, many clubs are now beginning to show interest in the Ghanaian international, who once enjoyed a brief but ultimately unremarkable loan spell at Sunderland at the end of the 2019/20 season.

The likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Newcastle United have all reported by GiveMeSport to be circling around Semenyo in the build-up to the January transfer window. But former football scout Michael Brown, who worked for Man Utd and West Ham, believes that Bournemouth are likely to price Semenyo out of a transfer in January.

Brown told Football Insider that he does not believe that Semenyo would improve Newcastle’s team that greatly and adds that the Magpies are unlikely to make a move for a player that wouldn’t even make their starting line-up.

When discussing Semenyo’s reported valuation of £40-£50m he explained: “No is the short answer, clubs won’t pay that price. From what I’ve seen of him, he’s improved and done better than I would have expected. He’s all-hearted, he gives everything he’s got and he’s very talented in possession. He’s also worked very hard to improve and step up.

“But will Newcastle pay £40-50million for him? Not based on what I’ve heard. Look at Harvey Barnes, for example, who has struggled to get into the team. Is Semenyo much better than him? They won’t pay that sort of fee if he isn’t going to be a nailed-on starter.

“It wasn’t that long ago they were forced to get rid of players for PSR reasons, and we know they’re still wary of falling into that trap again. So I think they’ll be put off of a move for a fee like that, even if the interest is there.”