Newcastle United putting final touches on £25.3m bid for striker valued at £33.8m

Newcastle United have been handed a boost in their reported bid to land Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos.

The Magpies have been smart in the transfer window so far, resisting any temptation to splash the cash, with the help of Financial Fair Play, of course.

But as they head into their second Premier League outing, they are short of a striker.

Eddie Howe has been coy on summer business, but he has dropped plenty of hints that a striker is now at the top of the summer to-do list.

Plenty of frontmen have been linked, both realistic and otherwise, and one of the latest to be linked is Benfica star Ramos.

The 21-year-old has scored a hugely impressive 14 goals in 16 appearances for Portugal under-21s, also netting 11 times in 35 senior appearances for Benfica.

According to the latest report, which comes from Portuguese outlet Record, via SportWitness, Newcastle are currently finishing off their preparations to make a £25.3million offer.

Benfica are said to be open to discussing a deal, but they do not want to sell for less than £33.8million.

Newcastle may not want to pay that much, but the report claims the Magpies are the ‘most advanced’ in the race to land Ramos.

PSG are also said to be interested, but they are only keeping an eye at this stage,

It’s unclear just how accurate these reports are, and Newcastle fans will be used to seeing their club’s name mentioned in reports this season.

What we do know at this stage is that Newcastle are not close to completing any new deals.

Eddie Howe said on Friday: “I am really sorry to say no. I am sorry to keep giving you the same answers.

“I want to give you a different response but I can’t. We are no closer currently. Hopefully, the next week or so might be different.”