Last night’s Champions League clash with Barcelona was both brilliant and brutal.
Newcastle were not rewarded for such an outstanding display, performing brilliantly considering we had no Bruno Guimaraes, top scorer Anthony Gordon on the bench, Tino Livramento on the bench and no Lewis Miley.
Another area of the pitch that turned heads ahead of kick-off was up front, as Will Osula was preferred to £124m duo Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.
Osula put in a real shift and pressed well, but you can’t help but wonder if last night might’ve been slightly different had a goalscorer and top-quality right winger joined Harvey Barnes in attack.
On that note, one Champions League proven striker in Victor Osimhen has come into the conversation this week, as former Mag Dietmar Hamann has urged Newcastle to make a move for the Galatasaray star who helped the Super Lig giants beat Liverpool on Tuesday night.
After leaving Napoli and ending up in Turkey, the ex-Newcastle midfielder believes the expensive but proven 27-year-old would be the ‘perfect’ fit at St James’ Park should Woltemade depart.
Speaking to Boyle Sports, he said: “If Newcastle do sell Nick Woltemade, he could be the perfect fit.”
“I think Osimhen is one of the top five centre forwards in Europe. I couldn’t believe that he ended up in Turkey.
“Obviously, Napoli paid an awful lot of money for him, but I’m very surprised that none of the English teams signed him, because they all struggled for centre forwards in the summer.
“They tried for players like Benjamin Sesko, and other players who have come in are only just starting to adapt now because they obviously needed some time.
“I think he’s an outstanding player and I think he’s probably the reason why Galatasaray is doing well in the league and also in the Champions League. I love watching him and I think, if he were to play in the Premier League, there are teams he would make much better.
“Obviously, Liverpool have got two players there now, so he won’t end up there, but he’s an outstanding player. He’s got pace, he’s got power, he can finish, a wonderful player.”
Osimhen is a player Steve Nickson watched closely during his time at Lille and may be eyeing a move back to one of Europe’s top leagues this summer.
He’s netted 18 goals this season and has a track record in the Champions League, netting 16 times in 26 appearances.
Perhaps a non-starter if his wage demands are beyond what we’re willing to pay, but the Nigerian looks tailor-made for Premier League football and might just be worth the money should we return to the striker market this summer.
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