Newcastle United target reveals transfer stance amid ‘advanced negotiations’ claim

Benfica star Goncalo Ramos has addressed his future as speculation over a possible move to Newcastle United continues.

The Portugal Under-21 international scored against the Magpies during a pre-season friendly and has taken that form into the regular season.

Ramos scored a hat-trick in his side’s 4-1 home win against Danish side Midtjylland in the first-leg of their Champions League qualifying round tie and provided an assist as Benfica completed a 7-2 aggregate win last week.

The 20-year-old has impressed in Liga Portugal as he set up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Rafa Sliva in their 4-0 home win against Arouca before grabbing the only goal of the game in Saturday night’s victory at Casa Pia.

When questioned on his future after the latter of those league fixtures, Ramos said: “I’m at Benfica, I’m fine, we’re playing well. What matters to me is the Benfica”.

Ramos is believed to be one player under consideration by Newcastle as the Magpies look to add more quality to their attacking ranks.

The Nottingham Forest and Paris Saint-Germain target was recently linked with a £25million move to Tyneside and reports in Portugal suggested United were in ‘advanced negotiations’ with their pre-season opponents.

A deal seems to be some way off with Record suggesting Benfica will only consider an offer closer to £34million before agreeing to part company with their highly-rated forward.

Magpies manager Eddie Howe addressed his search for new attacking talent following Saturday’s battling draw at Brighton and Hove Albion.

He said: “As I’ve said many times, we’re looking.

“We are aware that there are certain parts of the squad that we’d love to strengthen and give us more options.

“But that’s no reflection of anybody we currently have in our squad because I think we’ve shown that we love everybody within the group.”

The likes of Atalanta striker Luis Muriel and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi have also been linked with a move to Tyneside in recent days as Howe looks to add two forward players to his ranks before the transfer window closes next month.