Youssoufa Moukoko, a teenager who plays for Borussia Dortmund, has apparently received a verbal approach from Newcastle in an effort to recruit him before Chelsea.
In preparation for a potential summer departure from the German club, Moukoko is now free to speak with European clubs. Moukoko’s contract at Dortmund expires in the summer.
Although Chelsea has been linked to the 18-year-old, the Evening Standard reports that Newcastle has also spoken to Dortmund about the possibility of bringing Moukoko to St. James’ Park.
Newcastle is reportedly willing to give Moukoko around £150,000 per week in wages.
Dortmund has been attempting to persuade the kid to pledge his future to them, but they haven’t been able to pay his wage demands up to this point.
Newcastle hasn’t made any acquisitions in January as they are being cautious in the transfer market to make sure they follow Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
But with the squad already making significant progress on the field under Eddie Howe this season, bringing in Moukoko on a free transfer would be a declaration of purpose.
A huge setback for Chelsea, who have prioritized acquiring youthful talent since Todd Boehly became the team’s new owner last year, would be missing out on Moukoko.
Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, and Andrey Santos are all under the age of 21 and were all acquired by the Blues in the summer.
They also have Moukoko on their radar, but they now run the risk of losing him to a Premier League opponent.
Moukoko has scored six goals in 14 Bundesliga outings this year, which was sufficient for him to be selected for the German World Cup team in Qatar.
He started the tournament off for Germany as a substitute, but Hansi Flick’s team lost their next two games and were eliminated early.
