After weeks of dead ends and drawn out transfer sagas, Newcastle United are finally on the verge of making their first marquee signing of the window.
On Monday night, we came to an agreement with Nottingham Forest over the transfer of Anthony Elanga, and the Sweden international is now on Tyneside finalising a medical before he signs in a £55m deal from Nottingham Forest.
It leaves a big hole to fill at the City Ground after his 18 goal involvements last season, and it’s believed a former Toon target is now their top target to replace the Toon-bound Swede…
As revealed by The Telegraph’s John Percy, PSV’s Johan Bakayoko is now Nottingham Forest’s leading target to replace Anthony Elanga.
TalkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs reports similar, claiming Forest are in talks with the Dutch giants over a potential £30m deal.
When it looked like our deal for Elanga was up in the air last month after a £45m bid was rejected, Sky Sports revealed that Bakayoko was one of our back-up options, alongside West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus and Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.
But with Elanga now all set to sign, Forest look to be best-positioned to sign the young Belgian as a direct replacement, with Percy revealing that the Eredivisie star is a long-term target of theirs.
He won’t come quite as cheap as the Dutch media had once suggested, however, with The Telegraph also reporting that a fee of at least £30m will be required to land Bakayoko, who is also attracting interest from other clubs.
Nottingham Forest to target PSV winger Johan Bakayoko, as club ramp up search for attackers with Anthony Elanga poised to join Newcastle. Bakayoko has interest from other clubs but is a long-term Forest target #nffc https://t.co/jpJPTAEI77
— John Percy (@JPercyTelegraph) July 8, 2025
Elanga looks to have put us in a much healthier position down both flanks heading into next season’s Premier League and Champions League campaigns.
With the quartet of Elanga, Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy at his disposal, Howe will be very pleased with what he has available to him.
Some will argue that Bakayoko may prove the be a bargain at a fraction of the price, but Elanga is Premier League proven, has an immaculate injury record, pace to burn, an established connection with Alexander Isak and the ability to play down both flanks, with the 23-year-old two-footed.
Add Comment