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Newcastle United have been blessed with some exceptional strikers over the years as fans have enjoyed the likes of Les Ferdinand, Papiss Cisse, Callum Wilson and, of course, Alan Shearer.

The Magpies faithful have seen their fair share of clinical goalscorers over the years and they will be hoping that summer signing Alexander Isak, who joined from Spanish side Real Sociedad, will be the next cult hero for the club in that position.

Dan Ashworth splashed out a club-record transfer fee of £63m to snap up the Sweden international but money does not guarantee success, as Newcastle have found out over the years with bargain signings and expensive flops.

One acquisition the club played a blinder with was Demba Ba, who moved on a free transfer from West Ham United in the summer of 2011 when Alan Pardew was in charge.

He had scored seven goals in 12 Premier League matches for the Hammers in the previous campaign and that was enough to convince the Magpies to secure his services.

Pardew heaped praise on the striker’s instincts at the time of the move, saying: “He’s a player that has a natural eye for a goal, my connections at West Ham are very good and I know everything about him.”

The forward had failed medicals with Stoke and Stuttgart and it was reported that there were doubts over whether or not Newcastle would go through with a deal due to concerns over a long-term knee injury.

Instead of backing out of the transfer due to potential injury complications, Pardew decided to go through with the signing and the English manager’s decision paid dividends with that call as Ba went on to be a terrific player for the club.

In his first season on Tyneside, the Senegal international plundered 16 goals and four assists in 36 Premier League outings. He followed that up with an impressive 13 goals and four assists in 20 top-flight appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 campaign, which attracted interest from Chelsea.

The Blues activated the attacker’s £7m release clause and snatched him away from the Magpies after 18 months of the supporters enjoying his performances up front.

Former Chelsea TV journalist Jake Heasman once described him as a “lethal” forward who “bangs in goals” at the time of his move to Stamford Bridge in 2013 and his aforementioned statistics at St. James’ Park back that up.

Whilst it was far from ideal for Newcastle to lose Ba midway through a season for £7m, Pardew played a blinder with the attacker as the club made a £7m profit off a free transfer and received a year and a half of outstanding performances after initially doubting whether to bring him to the north east.

Their gamble paid off both in terms of the financial and footballing benefits it brought and the now-retired marksman should be looked back on fondly by supporters.

Newcastle United are currently sitting in the top four in the Premier League table after a fantastic start to the 2022/23 campaign under Eddie Howe.

The Magpies have accrued 21 points from 12 games and are above Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea as it stands, although they have played one game more than all three of those.

Howe’s men have won four of their last five matches in the top flight and are on a terrific run of form which currently has them in contention to finish in a European place.

However, the club’s superb results in the league this season may not stop Dan Ashworth from dipping into the transfer market to improve the squad further in January.

It was recently reported that the Magpies are keen on a deal to sign Christian Pulisic from Chelsea for €45m (£39m), as the 24-year-old is unhappy with his lack of game-time at Stamford Bridge under Graham Potter.

Signing the USA international from the Blues could allow Ashworth to finally ditch one of Newcastle’s biggest underperformers in recent years, namely Jacob Murphy.

The £35k-per-week dud has produced one goal and zero assists in 12 appearances in the Premier League this season, after managing one goal and two assists in 33 outings last term playing as a winger and a full-back at times.

Pulisic has only started twice in the top flight in 2022/23 but he caught the eye last season with six goals and two assists in 13 starts for Chelsea.

Previously speaking about the competition for his place in the Chelsea team, Hakim Ziyech hailed the former Borussia Dortmund man by saying: “Kai (Havertz) and Timo (Werner) are two big talents, they have proved it at their clubs before. Christian is one of the biggest talents. They have a lot of quality.

“Christian has been here a season longer, and you can see what he is capable of doing on the pitch. He is a crazy winger. It is really exciting to work with them and I can’t wait to be on the pitch, fully fit and doing our thing.”

The American forward’s best season for Chelsea came in the 2019/20 campaign as he scored nine goals and provided four assists in 25 Premier League games.

At the age of 24, he is also three years younger than Murphy and could have more years in him as a player, whilst holding greater potential to develop and improve.

Coupled with the pair’s respective statistics in the top flight, this suggests that Pulisic could be an upgrade on the Englishman, which would allow Ashworth to finally ditch the former Norwich man after joining the Tyneside club in 2017.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr grabbed a point against Al-Ahli thanks to a fortunate equaliser deep into stoppage time in the Saudi Pro League.

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Franck Kessie fired Al-Ahli ahead in styleAl-Nassr grab equaliser in ninth minute of stoppage timeUnderwhelming start to the season by Ronaldo's teamGetty Images SportTELL ME MORE

Ronaldo was honoured before the game with a special ‘900 goals’ shirt and tifo after his latest record-break exploits but couldn’t add to his tally in a first half low on quality and clear-cut chances. The Portugal star’s best opportunity came from a free-kick that flew harmlessly over the bar. Marcelo Brozovic also had sight of goal for Ronaldo’s side but saw a shot blocked by Edouard Mendy, while Roberto Firmino had a chance at the other end with a curling shot that drew a flying save from Bento.

There was more drama in the second half with Al-Nassr penalty claims waved away when Talisca went down in the penalty area, before Franck Kessie smashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area after some good link-up play from Ivan Toney on his debut. Al-Nassr tried to hit back but had to wait until deep into stoppage time to rescue a point. Ronaldo's team also needed a giant slice of luck as Sultan Al-Ghannam's cross took a nick off Bassam Mohammed Alhurayji and sneaked past goalkeeper Mendy.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE MVP

Kessie may not have ended up on the winning side but the former Barcelona midfielder deserved the MVP award for his quite brilliant strike alone. In a match devoid of quality, particularly in attack, Kessie's goal stood out, as he met his ball perfectly on the edge of the box and smashed it past a startled Bento and into the top corner. No goalkeeper in the world was keeping that one out.

Getty Images SportTHE BIG LOSER

The fact that the hosts' equaliser came via the boot of an Al-Ahli defender in the 99th minute tells you all you need to know about their attacking display as Al-Nassr's forwards struggled all night to create chances and trouble Mendy. Ronaldo seemed out of sorts after the international break and never looked like adding to his famous tally. The Portugal star wasn't helped by his team-mates either, with Sadio Mane and Talisca both struggling to provide any quality throughout the 90 minutes. A big improvement is needed if Al-Nassr are to seriously challenge for the title this season.

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WHAT COMES NEXT?

Both teams are back in Saudi Pro League action in a week's time. Al-Nassr come up against Al-Ettifaq, while Al-Ahli take on Damac.

Southampton are reportedly looking to sign Cadiz defender Momo Mbaye but face some competition from two other Premier League clubs. 

The Lowdown: Southampton’s defensive struggles

With 13 league games played in this campaign, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have conceded 20 goals, leaving only five other clubs in the league with a worse defensive record.

Armel Bella-Kotchap had a superb start to the season but then picked up an injury, leaving just Lyanco, Mohammed Salisu and Duje Caleta-Car as senior options in the heart of the back line.

Taking that into account, it’s easy to see why the south coast club have been linked with a transfer swoop for another defender.

The Latest: A three-way transfer race

According to a recent report from Spain (via Hampshire Live), Southampton have been closely following Mbaye alongside fellow top-flight clubs Leeds United and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The report does reveal however that while the defender’s current contract at Cadiz expires in 2024, the Spanish club are trying to get the player to extend his deal.

The Verdict: A smart move?

Having made 36 appearances for his current club across their senior and youth sides, the 24-year-old, who is aiming to make his senior international debut for Senegal in the upcoming World Cup, has scored four goals and provided one assist.

Despite only making four senior appearances for Cadiz, three of them have come in this current La Liga campaign, and his form may just catch the eye of national coach Aliou Cissé in time for the squad announcement this month.

Across those three league appearances, Mbaye, who has been described as a “quick” and “forceful” defender by journalist Angel Cotan, has managed to average 4.3 clearances per game, which is the second-highest average at the club.

This would give him the third-highest average of clearances per game at Southampton for this Premier League season, which shows how much of a useful figure he could be for the Saints.

Moving forward, given Southampton’s knack of conceding goals, adding a figure like Mbaye to their ranks could be an ideal investment for the club to make, and he shouldn’t cost much if he does not extend his contract.

However, if they do see the defender as a suitable signing for them, they will have to do all they can to beat Leeds and Brighton to his signature.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou endured a rough debut season in the Champions League group stages as his side finished bottom of their table without a win in their six matches.

His team picked up two points in those games but he is not the first Hoops manager to struggle in Europe. Ronny Deila is another former boss of the Glasgow giants who failed to make his mark on the European stage.

Deila spent two seasons at the club and was unable to qualify for the Champions League in either of those campaigns, whilst he only won two of his 14 matches in charge in the Europa League in that time – failing to make it past the intermediate stage in that competition.

The Norweigan head coach could not crack that level of football with the club and some of his signings during his spell in Glasgow could have played a role in that.

One signing the manager dropped a howler on was the arrival of Nadir Ciftci from Premiership rivals Dundee United in the summer of 2015 for £1.5m.

There were warning signs for Celtic to heed as he was due to answer a charge of “excessive misconduct” as the Scottish FA accused him of biting an opposition player in a game against Dundee for his former club.

He was subsequently banned for eight domestic matches and did not appeal the decision, which meant that he started his Hoops career on the back foot.

Whilst he was banned from playing in the Premiership, he played six times in Champions League qualifiers and failed to score or assist a single goal.

Ciftci then came back from his ban to score four times in 11 league appearances, whilst registering zero goal contributions in three Europa League outings, and was loaned out to Eskisehirspor for the second half of the campaign.

The club eventually opted to cut his contract short by a year as they released him in the summer of 2018, after making just four appearances in Brendan Rodgers’ time in Glasgow and spending time out on loan at Plymouth, Motherwell, and Pogon Szczecin.

Since departing Celtic Park, Ciftci has played for four different clubs in Turkey and spent six months at St. Johnstone back in Scotland earlier this year. At the time of writing, he is in the second tier of Greek football with Makedonikos – who he joined at the start of October 2022.

This shows that he has not gone on to prove Celtic wrong for allowing him to leave and has, instead, proven that Deila had a howler by deciding to sign him in the first place, as he is playing second-division football at the age of 30 – seven years after joining the Hoops for £1.5m.

Crystal Palace are eyeing up Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton-Diaz and he could be a big upgrade on Jean Philippe Mateta in Patrick Vieira’s side.

According to 90min, Palace are one of several Premier Leagues sides to have scouted the 23-year-old forward, who has exploded onto the scene over the past two years after superb performances for club and country.

Last season saw the former Nottingham Forest man notch 22 goals in the Championship for the Ewood Park outfit as they narrowly missed out on the playoffs, and he looks to be aiming for promotion with Jon Dahl Tomasson’s high-fliers this season, with nine league goals to his name.

That has left the Lancashire side in a precarious situation, as they will no doubt be desperate to keep the Chile international, who they value at £10m, as they look to earn promotion back to the Premier League, but they could risk losing him on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The Eagles have enjoyed a strong start to their season and sit just a few points away from the European places in the Premier League, so further squad depth could be targeted in January as they look to push on.

In the absence of Odsonne Edouard through injury recently, Vieira first opted to play Wilfried Zaha through the middle against West Ham, before deploying Mateta against Newcastle United in midweek, only for the Frenchman to continue his poor recent form.

The former Mainz man has averaged a shocking 6.20 rating from WhoScored for his performances in the Premier League, with just one goal to his name, whereas Brereton-Diaz has averaged a 6.89 rating.

The Chilean, although he is playing in a lower division, has also averaged far more shots (3.1 vs 1.0), key passes (1.0 vs 0.4) and dribbles (1.0 vs 0.2) per game than the Palace frontman, which suggests that he could be a big overall upgrade in Vieira’s squad.

Therefore, Steve Parish should definitely be looking at signing the “phenomenal” – as dubbed by scout and journalist Ron Dor on Twitter – striker following the World Cup break, as it could allow the Eagles to finally drop the disappointing Mateta from their plans.

Boasting a wealth of talent in their youth ranks, West Bromwich Albion certainly have plenty of youngsters knocking on Carlos Corberan’s door for more opportunities.

Many will have seen the meteoric rise of Taylor Gardner-Hickman, from academy graduate to first-team starter, and will believe they can be the next big thing at the Hawthorns.

Despite having endured a miserable season, the 20-year-old has been one of the few shining lights.

Forced to deputise in a number of positions, he outlined his maturity and confidence in his ability as he featured at right back under Steve Bruce.

Only when Richard Beale took over was he moved to his favoured position, where he could go on to win them the game against Reading with a goal and an assist.

These experiences in different positions will certainly aid him in the long run, as his knowledge of the game will only be boosted, but his future is one which clearly lay in the engine room.

He boasts too much attacking flair and a relentless spirit that should not be confined to defence.

Gardner-Hickman’s rise through the ranks has unsurprisingly led to an increase in his value, which will come as a pleasing outcome for the hierarchy at the club who have seen talents such as Saido Berahino and Chris Wood pass through for a big profit.

Only in May of 2022 was he valued at just €600k (£528k), however as recent as October of 2022 this had increased by 98% to an impressive €1.2m (£1.04m).

To see such a growth in just five months bodes well for the rest of his career, which is only just getting started at the Hawthorns.

With performances last season that drew journalists Joe Ellis and Alex Dicken to label him “a cut above the rest” and “menacing”, it is clear that with each season he seems to improve on the last.

Should he continue his impressively upward trajectory, the sky really is the limit for Gardner-Hickman and his seemingly ever-increasing value.

Everton are preparing to make an offer to sign Udinese defender Rodrigo Becao, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Exit on the horizon?

The Brazilian has just over 18 months remaining on his deal at the Dacia Arena, but after refusing to sign an extension with the Serie A outfit, an exit could be on the cards in 2023.

The centre-back is currently sidelined due to a flexor injury, and whilst he will be available for selection again after the World Cup break, his contract situation has seen him being linked with a move to the Premier League.

The Latest: Everton eyeing Becao

According to Tutto Udinese (via Sport Witness), Everton are ‘willing to put up’ €15m (£13m) to land Becao in January after registering their interest over the summer.

The Toffees ‘decided not to push forward’ with a move following the arrivals of Conor Coady and James Tarkowski, but the report states that they still ‘remain in the picture’.

Udinese owner Gino Pozzo ‘knows that he will have to sanction a sale’ if contract negotiations reach a roadblock, which Frank Lampard’s side will be ‘hoping for’.

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The Verdict: Absolute bargain

The Everton target has been dubbed an ‘insurmountable’ player by journalist Bruno Queiroz, and Becao offers a threat at both ends of the pitch, so being able to secure his services for £13m would be a bargain.

The 6 foot 3 colossus averages three clearances and 2.1 successful aerial duels per game, and also has a goal and assist to his name in just nine appearances this season (WhoScored).

Those returns would see him rank highly among Lampard’s squad for both metrics, which indicates that he could be an upgrade on many players at Everton.

Whether Becao would be a guaranteed starter given the partnership created between Coady and Tarkowski remains to be seen, but he would certainly appear to be a fantastic prospective addition at Goodison Park.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is well underway and Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte may be analysing the ongoing games with one eye on the upcoming January transfer window.

He has the opportunity to bolster his squad ahead of the second half of the season and the international competition being in the winter provides an unprecedented chance for players to catch the eye on the world stage ahead of January.

One gem who could play his way into a switch to England is Denmark international Andreas Skov Olsen, who currently plays for Club Brugge in Belgium.

According to a recent report from Nieuwsblad, Spurs have sent scouts to watch the attacker in action during the tournament, although it remains to be seen whether or not they will make a concrete move for him at the start of 2023.

The 22-year-old played 65 minutes against Tunisia in his side’s opening World Cup match but did not feature at all in Denmark’s 2-1 defeat to France in their second game.

Olsen may now be hoping that he can play a big part in Denmark’s final group stage match against Australia, which they will need to win to give themselves a chance of progressing through to the last 16.

If he can catch the eye in that game, and potentially beyond, then he could convince Spurs to swoop for him in January and manager Conte could find Dejan Kulusevski 2.0 if the club bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League.

Like the Juventus loanee, Olsen is a left-footed right winger who is adept at scoring and creating goals from out wide, despite not possessing blistering pace.

The winger, who has racked up 96 goals and assists in his club career to date, came into the tournament in fine form after a strong start to the season with Brugge.

He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.41 in the Belgian top-flight this term, scoring six goals and providing three assists in 12 starts – creating 2.1 chances per match.

Olsen joined Brugge in January of this year and produced six goals and eight assists in 12 starts during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.

Meanwhile, Kulusevski has created five goals and provided 1.9 key passes per outing across nine matches in the Premier League this season for Spurs, which highlights the creativity he is able to provide from a wide position.

Therefore, the Danish international, who talent scout Jacek Kulig described as “perfect”, could be the next version of the Swedish attacker for Spurs by coming in and being a left-footed magician who can consistently create chances on the right wing for Conte.

He could provide competition for Kulusevski and has played through the middle and out on the left during his career so far, which means that they could also both line up in the same XI if selected and it does not have to be one or the other.

Liverpool could be tempted into a move for Nico Williams in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Goal España (via Sport Witness), who claim that, with the right-winger possessing a €50m (£43m) release clause in his current contract with Athletic Bilbao, coupled with the sensational form the 20-year-old has been in for both Bilbao and Spain in the current campaign, Jurgen Klopp could be tempted into activating this clause in January.

A further report by Italian media outlet CalcioMercatoWeb has also claimed that the Reds are tracking the attacker at the Qatar World Cup this winter, while Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are also thought to be keeping a close eye on the youngster ahead of potentially launching a move of their own in the January transfer window.

Phenomenal in Qatar

With Liverpool appearing to be undergoing a changing of the guard in their front three at present – as Sadio Mane has already left the club for Bayern Munich and Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are turning 31 and 32 years of age respectively in 2023 – it is easy to see why Klopp would be interested in a move to bring Williams to Anfield in the January market.

Indeed, the £26m-rated talent has burst onto the European football scene over his 14 LaLiga fixtures this season, having already hit the back of the net three times, provided three assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots – 0.8 of which have been on target – making 1.4 key passes and completing 1.4 dribbles per game.

These metrics have seen the attacker average an extremely eye-catching SofaScore match rating of 6.96, currently ranking him as Ernesto Valverde’s seventh-best performer in the top flight of Spanish football – a quite remarkable feat for a 20-year-old playing just his second season of senior football.

However, it has not only been for Bilbao that Williams has impressed in 2022/23, as the winger has also become a key part of Luis Enrique’s Spain squad over the last few months – earning himself a place in the 52-year-old’s squad for the Qatar World Cup.

Indeed, after providing the assist for La Roja’s 1-0 Nations League win over Portugal back in September, as well as scoring his first international goal in a 3-1 friendly victory over Jordan towards the start of November, Williams has now featured in both of his country’s World Cup fixtures so far this month – with the 20-year-old particularly impressing in the 7-0 win over Costa Rica.

Over his 21 minutes on the pitch, the £40k-per-week sensation completed 88% of his passes, was successful with two of his three attempted dribbles, won three of his five duels and made one tackle – with these metrics seeing the youngster earn a simply phenomenal SofaScore match rating of 7.0 – not bad for your debut in the biggest competition in world football.

As such, considering just how high the ceiling of the player who Jacek Kulig dubbed both “phenomenal” and “superb” looks to be, coupled with the fact that Liverpool have recently signed the likes of 23-year-old striker Darwin Núñez and 25-year-old left-winger Luis Díaz, the addition of Williams could well prove to form Klopp’s next Mane, Firmino and Salah-esque trio at Anfield.

Indeed, should the 20-year-old continue to star for Spain in Qatar this winter, it would not be surprising in the slightest to see Klopp activating the attacker’s £43m release clause in January, as Williams very much appears to be one of European football’s most exciting attacking prospects at present.