Chelsea offer Newcastle £10m alternative to Strand Larsen who would fly under Eddie Howe
As Newcastle have rifled through strikers and ended up bent over a barrel by Wolves in a bid to sign Strand Larsen, we wonder why they’re not in touch with Chelsea…
After Newcastle’s desperate search for a new striker started with interest in Joao Pedro and has taken them via Hugo Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko – who have snubbed them for Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United respectively – and Brentford’s own Alexander Isak in Yoane Wissa, they can now be seen throwing all logic out of the window in making bids way over the odds for Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen.
A £50m offer was rejected by Wolves on Monday, a second worth £55m snubbed on Wednesday and a third of £60m is reportedly in the post. Strand Larsen ‘has been very clear that he wants this deal to go through’, but unlike Wissa, is ‘not agitating’ for an exit, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
Wolves can smell the desperation like the rest and have them over a barrel. We assume if Newcastle reach a fanciful number they have in mind for the Norway international then Wolves will sell despite their insistence to the contrary. It’s a helluva lot of money to turn down for a striker bought for £23m this summer who’s valued at barely more than that by Transfermarkt.
READ MORE: Why Newcastle want Wolves’ Strand Larsen for £60m and why Mateta is their next target
But as Newcastle work their way down the list of 2024/2025 Premier League top scorers in the most basic of transfer tactics almost certainly explained by their lack of a sporting director, Chelsea have opened up the possibility of signing Nicolas Jackson, who was linked with a move to St James’ Park before Bayern Munich muscled in.
Fabrizio Romano revealed further ‘club-to-club talks’ over Jackson’s move on Wednesday, with Bayern ‘insisting’ on a deal which Chelsea are adamant ‘has to include an obligation to buy’. Ben Jacobs later claimed the Blues also want a £10m loan fee this season.
That obligation may well be a sticking point for Newcastle, particularly given Chelsea’s supposed £80m valuation of the Senegal international and the lack of pressure to drop that asking price given a quite extraordinary net spend of almost zero this summer, thanks to 12 player sales covering the cost of their eight new signings.
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There’s also the question as to whether Chelsea would grant Newcastle the same terms as Bayern as their direct Premier League rivals. But it’s worth a go for Newcastle, isn’t it?
They may be able to haggle down that obligation sum, perhaps somewhere towards the £60m they’re willing to pay for Strand Larsen. And Jackson surely has a higher ceiling; the sort of ceiling we would be more comfortable in him reaching under Eddie Howe than almost any other coach.
Just think about how much he’s improved Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon. The list goes on and absolutely includes Alexander Isak, who’s now worth £150m (at least to Newcastle) having arrived at the club on the back of a 10-goal season for Real Sociedad, with a best ever return of 17.
We could absolutely see Howe polishing a rough diamond in Jackson, and wouldn’t it lovely for Newcastle to be the hijackers for a change.
