Alexander Isak has taken a massive step closer to making his Liverpool debut after being filmed joining his new team-mates at the Red's training base.
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Fair to say, this transfer window has not exactly gone to plan for Newcastle United.
Anthony Elanga has arrived from Nottingham Forest for a reported fee of £55m, which is certainly an exciting addition.
However, now that James Trafford is poised to re-join Manchester City, the Magpies have now missed out on seven key targets, with Hugo Ekitiké, Liam Delap, João Pedro, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Dean Huijsen all choosing to go elsewhere.
There’s also the small matter of their best player, seemingly, going on strike to force through a move, more on that in just a second, hence why Eddie Howe is in the market searching for a striker.
As you may have pieced together by now, according to a report by Chris Waugh of the Athletic, Alexander Isak has not travelled with the rest of the squad to Asia for pre-season friendlies in Singapore and Korea Republic.
The club statement claims he is nursing a groin injury, but George Caulkin of the Athletic outlines the Sweden international’s desire to leave and join an ‘elite team’, with a move to Liverpool his preference.
Thus, as they commence their striker search, Craig Hope of the Daily Mail reports that Newcastle have added Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson to their list of targets.
The Blues have already signed both Liam Delap and João Pedro for £30m and £55m respectively this summer, so Matt Law of the Telegraph claims Jackson is available for sale, with Chris Burns of Football.London adding that the Senegalese international is valued at around £80m.
So, could Jackson soon swap West London for the North East?
Despite often being much maligned, Jackson’s scoring record since joining Chelsea two summers ago is pretty impressive, bagging 30 goals in 81 appearances for the club, including netting both times Newcastle have visited Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Former Liverpool and England striker Peter Crouch praised his “unbelievable” performances, while Liam Twomey and Mark Carey of the Athletic document his ‘excellent’ pressing, making him ‘a big part’ of how the team play.
Similarly, Ed Dove of ESPN outlines how the Blues’ form waned while Jackson was injured, praising the striker’s ‘broader contribution… without the ball’ as well as his ‘self-sacrifice and relentless running’, becoming the first Chelsea player to reach double figures for Premier League goals in successive seasons since Didier Drogba.
Should he move to Newcastle, Jackson would be following in the footsteps of a pair of fellow Senegalese strikers who are certainly remembered fondly on Tyneside.
During the 2011/12 season, spearheaded by Papiss Cissé and Demba Ba, the Magpies finished fifth under Alan Pardew, just two years after being promoted from the Championship, and both strikers were on fire.
|
Toon players to score 13+ PL goals in one season |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Players |
Season |
Goals |
|
Alexander Isak |
2024/25 |
23 |
|
Alexander Isak |
2023/24 |
21 |
|
Callum Wilson |
2022/23 |
18 |
|
Loïc Rémy |
2013/14 |
14 |
|
Demba Ba |
2012/13 |
13 |
|
Demba Ba |
2011/12 |
16 |
|
Papiss Cissé |
2011/12 |
13 |
|
Alan Shearer |
2003/04 |
22 |
|
Alan Shearer |
2002/03 |
17 |
|
Alan Shearer |
2001/02 |
23 |
|
Alan Shearer |
1999/00 |
23 |
|
Alan Shearer |
1998/99 |
14 |
|
Alan Shearer |
1996/97 |
25 |
|
Les Ferdinand |
1996/97 |
16 |
|
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt |
||
As the table outlines, 2011/12 remains the only season in which two Newcastle players have scored 13 or more Premier League goals since the heady days of 1996/97, a year the Magpies finished second.
Demba Ba, the more prolific of the duo, was ultimately sold to Chelsea for £7.5m in January 2013, so could Jackson become the reverse Ba?
Well, let’s compare the pair to find out.
|
Ba vs Jackson comparison (PL only) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Ba at NUFC |
Ba at CFC |
Jackson at CFC |
|
Games |
54 |
33 |
65 |
|
Minutes |
4,399 |
1,533 |
5,050 |
|
Goals |
29 |
7 |
24 |
|
Mins per goal |
152 |
219 |
210 |
|
Assists |
6 |
1 |
10 |
|
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt |
|||
As the table outlines, Ba at Newcastle was marginally more prolific than Jackson has been during his time at Chelsea, scoring five more goals in around 600 fewer minutes, albeit the latter has registered more assists; the former certainly did not continue this scoring spree at Stamford Bridge all those years ago!
Nevertheless, in contrast, Jackson, at 24 years old, would surely be primed to have make immediate impact should he arrive at Newcastle, just as Ba did, hence why he should be amongst their top targets, if Isak does indeed get his wish and depart.
More prolific than Sesko: Newcastle targeting move for £87m "monster"
Newcastle are looking to bring in another striker or two this summer
By
Ross Kilvington
Jul 27, 2025
Manchester United will have to fork out a staggering fee in compensation if they plan to sack Ruben Amorim in the middle of the season. The Red Devils are off to a nightmare start in the 2025-26 campaign and it only got worse after their humiliating derby loss against Manchester City last Sunday. The Red Devils currently find themselves 14th in the Premier League after four games.
Chelsea are in advanced talks over a deal for RB Leipzig starlet Xavi Simons, as has been the case for some time, but they may not have it all their own way.
Negotiations are far down the line for his signature, as widely reported, but Fabrizio Romano says that Chelsea are still attempting to make sales before pressing forward with a deal for the Dutchman.
|
Chelsea’s best performers in the Premier League last season |
Average match rating |
|---|---|
|
Cole Palmer |
7.33 |
|
Moises Caicedo |
7.02 |
|
Enzo Fernández |
6.95 |
|
Nicolas Jackson |
6.88 |
|
Noni Madueke |
6.82 |
|
via WhoScored |
|
“Chelsea remain in talks with RB Leipzig and Xavi Simons wants to go there,” said Romano on his YouTube channel around two days ago.
“There are advanced talks, but at the moment, there’s been no breakthrough. Why?
“It’s not been done for two reasons. The first one is that RB Leipzig are completely focused on the Sesko deal. So they’ll resolve that and then clarify Xavi Simons. Secondly, Chelsea are working on the outgoings. I told you that the contract and salary are almost agreed, but we have to wait for official statements for Armando Broja, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and all the rest.
“Then there’s the conversation on the price between the two clubs, which is something absolutely important.”
Despite some reports in the last 48 hours claiming that Chelsea have reached a ‘total agreement’ for Simons, it appears there is still some work to do for the 22-year-old’s signature.
The former PSG playmaker is determined to join Chelsea, though, and has removed Leipzig from his Instagram bio in a clear hint that Simons has his eyes on a move to Stamford Bridge.
However, as per Chelsea journalist Simon Phillips, a mystery club is now threatening to derail their pursuit of the Bundesliga sensation.
Writing via his Substack live blog [16:38, Thursday], an unnamed side have now come in for Simons, and this could ‘complicate things’, or at the very least force Chelsea to up the ante.
“SPTC Sources have heard that another ‘unnamed club’ has now come in for Xavi Simons,” wrote Phillips.
“Source states it could ‘complicate things’ or it could ‘speed Chelsea up’.
“Simons has agreed personal terms with Chelsea and is and has always been waiting for the move to us, but I’m not sure it’s been a Chelsea or nothing attitude so this would concern me.
“Let’s just hope it speeds us up to agree a fee.”
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol states that the Blues want to agree a deal for Simons below the £50 million mark.
Given Tottenham’s glaring need for a number 10 after James Maddison’s serious knee injury, we speculate that Thomas Frank’s side may well be the mystery club here.
After all, they were ready to spend £60 million on Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White just last month before Evangelos Marinakis blocked the move, so Daniel Levy is quite clearly prepared to splash the cash on a new attacking midfielder.
Nottingham Forest have followed up their sensational Premier League campaign last season with what is shaping up to be an exciting summer of transfer business.
The Tricky Trees might not have signed as many players as they have in windows past, but in Dan Ndoye, Igor Jesus, and Jair Cunha, they’ve added some real quality to the side.
Moreover, while they have lost Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United, they’ve managed to tie Morgan Gibbs-White down with a new deal.
And now, if reports are to be believed, the club are about to sign a goalscoring forward who has been compared to Yoane Wissa.
While it now looks like Wissa will probably be making his way to the North East this summer to join Newcastle United, it wasn’t that long ago that Forest were in the mix for him.
Transfer Focus
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It’s easy to see why Nuno and Co might’ve wanted the Congolese ace to move to the City Ground, as he racked up a stellar haul of 20 goals and five assists in just 39 appearances for Brentford last summer.
However, fans shouldn’t be too down about missing out on the 28-year-old, as it looks like the club are now closing in on a forward who could be their own version of him.
At least that’s according to a recent report from the continent, who claims that Forest are now incredibly close to signing Arnaud Kalimuendo.
In fact, the Belgian journalist has revealed that the Gariabaldi have now “agreed” to pay Stade Rennais €30m – £26m – for the incredibly dangerous centre-forward and that personal terms are already sorted.
While the fee is still significant, this looks like a great bit of business from Forest, especially as Kalimuendo has been compared to the dangerous Wissa.
Now, there are plenty of clear and somewhat surface-level similarities between Kalimuendo and Wissa, such as the fact that they’re both goalscoring centre-forwards who play in one of Europe’s top leagues and look to be on the move this summer.
However, in this instance, the primary comparison stems from FBref, which has analysed players in similar positions across Europe’s top-five leagues and concluded that the Brentford star has been the tenth most similar forward to the Rennes ace over the last 365 days.
The best way to understand how such a conclusion was reached is to examine the underlying numbers where the pair ranks closely.
|
Kalimuendo & Wissa |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistics per 90 |
Kalimuendo |
Wissa |
|
Expected Goals |
0.52 |
0.57 |
|
Goals |
0.59 |
0.59 |
|
Assists |
0.10 |
0.12 |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.75 |
1.85 |
|
Passing Accuracy |
78.8% |
76.5% |
|
Expected Assists |
0.07 |
0.06 |
|
Passes into the Penalty Area |
0.49 |
0.40 |
|
Tackles |
0.66 |
0.68 |
|
Clearances |
0.56 |
0.65 |
|
Successful Take-On % |
33.9% |
30.6% |
|
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Campaign |
||
The metrics include things such as expected and actual goals, expected and actual assists, passes into the penalty area, successful take-on percentage, tackles and more, all per 90.
It’s clear from these similarities that the 23-year-old has the ability to become just as dangerous a striker as the Bees ace and that he does not shirk his defensive duties either.
However, away from the statistical similarities to the Premier League star, the other reason Forest should be going all out to sign the France U21 star is the fact that he was a lean, mean output machine last season.
For example, the Suresnes-born monster, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig described as being “one of the most prolific” players around, scored 18 goals and provided four assists in 34 appearances, totalling 2681 minutes.
That means he managed to average a goal involvement every 1.54 games, or every 121.86 minutes, which sounds like the sort of numbers which could help push Nuno’s side even further up the table.
Ultimately, while he’s not as well known in England as Wissa, Forest look like they have got themselves a seriously impressive striker in Kalimuendo and someone who could be their own version of the Brentford man.
Their new Gibbs-White: Nottingham Forest in race to land £30m star on loan
The hugely exciting gem could be a game-changer for Forest this season.
By
Jack Salveson Holmes
Aug 14, 2025
Liverpool star Cody Gakpo has revealed that Lionel Messi was his childhood idol, while giving an ultimate compliment to former team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Netherlands international was hit with a series of questions about his career and some of the best players he has come up against. And in it, he sung the praises of some well-known faces over the years.
After announcing the arrival of Nicolo Savona, Nottingham Forest have reportedly turned their attention towards handing Nuno Espirito Santo another one of his demands.
Amid a heated fallout with owner Evangelos Marinakis and sporting director Edu Gaspar last week, Espirito Santo revealed that he believes Nottingham Forest still need a goalkeeper and reinforcements at fullback. Now, one week on, he looks set to get his demands.
The Tricky Trees have left the Portuguese manager with very little room for complaints after welcoming as many as nine signings this summer and have just announced the arrival of new right-back, Savona.
After meeting his demand, Marinakis and everyone around the City Ground will be desperate for this saga to come to an end. The Greek owner told reporters at the Europa League draw: “Everything is solid. We all want Nottingham to succeed. We are here in the good days but we are even closer in the difficult days, so personally I don’t see a problem.
“We are all together, united, and we’ll make some corrective actions and everything will be smooth and ready to go. We have a solid relationship.
“Of course, sometimes we can be nervous, say one thing, say another, but what counts at the end of the day is the real relationship between me and Nuno, between Nuno and the players and between the players and ourselves.”
Meanwhile, with two days left until the transfer window slams shut, Forest could yet welcome some final additions to truly emphasise their backing for Espirito Santo. The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has just got the full-back that he was looking for and it now looks as though he could see another demand ticked off the list.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Nottingham Forest have now reached an agreement to sign John Victor from Botafogo. The Brazilian came incredibly close to joining West Ham United earlier this summer, but now looks set to get his Premier League wish without the London club, courtesy of those at the City Ground.
Whilst Victor is unlikely to take Matz Sels’ starting place, there’s no doubt that he’ll be a solid backup to turn to for Espirito Santo. The 29-year-old played a starring role as Botafogo shocked the world by defeating Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup earlier this summer and could now get the chance to replicate that form in a Forest shirt.
Deal agreed: Nottingham Forest finalising £13m move for Italian defender
The Midlands club are still seeking reinforcements.
By
Tom Cunningham
Aug 28, 2025
Praised for a “phenomenal” period of form in Brazil by South American football expert Nathan Joyes, Victor should hand Espirito Santo the goalkeeper that he’s been looking for and, once again, hand him little room for complaints. Whether that will satisfy the Portuguese manager and end his fallout with Marinakis and Edu remains to be seen, however.
Marseille are ready to buy Matt O'Riley on a permanent deal in January after initially signing the attacking midfielder on loan from Brighton for the season. Sporting director Medhi Benatia and his team have been impressed by the Denmark international's performances and are eager to ensure he does not slip out of their grasp.
West Ham have had by far the worst opening to the Premier League of all of this year’s sides. Graham Potter has lost his opening two League games and has been knocked out of the League Cup by Wolves despite leading in the 80th minute.
Following the Carabao Cup exit, Potter spoke about the destitute situation at the club: “We’re all in pain so we need everybody to help, we need everybody’s support, we need to push forward and on to the next match. The team’s suffering at the moment, we all are, we’re all hurting”
One of the biggest problems that West Ham have faced in their opening games has been their new goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen. The Hammers splashed out on the Danish keeper this summer, and in his opening two games, he has conceded eight goals.
What’s worse is that he has only faced an xG of 6.78, meaning in just two games he has conceded from more than one shot that most keepers would be expecting to save, and that doesn’t even account for his weakness defending set pieces.
Due to this, West Ham are looking at drastic measures and could bring in Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana on loan.
Onana had not featured in pre-season due to a hamstring injury, and many fans expected to see him feature in their game week two clash against Fulham. However, Ruben Amorim continued to pick Altay Bayindir ahead of him, despite the Turkish keeper being partially responsible for United’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
United are now also heavily linked with signing Royal Antwerp goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, bringing Onana’s future into further doubt.
Reports from Graeme Bailey via United in Focus have indicated that “intermediaries have held active talks with a number of clubs about a loan deal for Andre Onana, and we can confirm one of those clubs is West Ham United”.
Veteran goalkeeper Łukasz Fabianski was one of the many players whose contract was not renewed at the end of last season, meaning the only other keepers at the club are Wes Foderingham and Alphonse Areola.
Areola was given the nod to start against Wolves in the League Cup, but his performance wasn’t much better than Hermansen’s had been. Areola faced shots valued at 1.95 xG but conceded three goals, leading to the Hammers’ elimination.
The signing of a Manchester United goalkeeper might sound prestigious, but Onana has previously been described as “one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United’s history” by former United and Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, and Amorim’s displeasure with the Cameroonian should be another warning sign about this potential signing.
Bringing in an alternative goalkeeper at such an early stage is a clear sign of desperation from West Ham. and Onana as that alternative might not be a vast improvement. The opening games have indicated that problems at West Ham are greater than any one signing.
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick provided a worrying update on wonderkid Lamine Yamal's injury as he could not guarantee that the teenager would feature against Real Madrid in the season's first El Clasico later this month. Yamal suffered a relapse of his groin injury while featuring in Barca's Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week.