Newcastle United are on the hunt for what seems to be their primary target this summer, a new right winger.
The Magpies have a huge season ahead of them, with Champions League football returning to St James’ Park, and are looking for extra depth on the right to go along with Jacob Murphy.
After being rejected by Bryan Mbeumo, the Magpies seemingly switched their attention to Anthony Elanga.
According to David Ornstein, they placed a bid of around £45m, but that was rejected by Nottingham Forest, the Sweden international’s current club.
Whilst there is still a chance they could return with a bid for Elanga, there have been reports about their new targets out wide.
Newcastle's new right-wing targets
It is definitely a blow for the North East giants to perhaps lose out on the signing of Elanga. He was a player they have seemingly targeted for a while, having made a move for him last summer. However, they certainly have other options.
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It seems as though Newcastle could move for a new target after they failed to sign Elanga. Keith Downie of Sky Sports reported a few days ago that they are ‘exploring’ a move for other players, including Borussia Dortmund winger Karim Adeyemi.
If Eddie Howe’s side decide to try and sign the Germany international, he could cost £43m, according to SportBILD a few weeks ago.
The same report also suggests that Juventus, Liverpool and Chelsea are also interested in the winger, although it is not clear if they will challenge the Magpies in their move or Howe gets a clear run at his latest winger target.
How Adeyemi compares to Anthony Elanga
At 23 years of age, Adeyemi has already played a great deal of football at the highest level and has made a great impression. He notably impressed last season for Dortmund despite struggling with an injury, and is now playing in the Club World Cup in the United States.
In 2024/25 so far, including the ongoing competition happening Stateside, he has played 38 times, scoring an impressive 12 goals and grabbing a further nine assists. Given that he has featured for just 2,261 minutes, the equivalent of 25.1 full 90-minute games, contributing to 21 goals in that time is a great effort.
The Magpies will certainly know a bit about the damage Adeyemi can cause. Having played against him twice before in the Champions League, he grabbed an assist against them at Signal Iduna Park. Adeyemi’s quick feet and excellent long pass enabled Julian Brandt to counter-attack Newcastle, which he ended up scoring.
Sweden international Elanga had a fantastic campaign in the Premier League last season too. He played all 38 of Forest’s games, scoring six goals and grabbing 11 assists, including a sublime effort against former side Manchester United.
Those numbers are fairly similar to the ones Adeyemi put up in the Bundesliga; he contributed 13 goals and assists in the German top flight, but played just 25 games.
Described as a “counter-attacking weapon” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig and as “unstoppable” by football analyst Ben Mattinson, you can certainly see how that is similar to Elanga by watching how quick he is in the above goal. Adeyemi is not exactly slow, and, as per Speeds Database, has a top speed of 36.30 km/h.
Statistically, via FBref, Adeyemi has numbers which far exceed Elanga. For example, the German international averaged 0.82 goal involvements and 0.69 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes, compared to the Forest star’s 0.61 goals and assists and 0.65 goal-creating actions each game.
Goals and assists
0.82
0.61
Goals per shot on target
0.39
0.25
Progressive carries
4.28
3.67
Take-ons completed
2.52
0.90
Goal-creating actions
0.69
0.65
Tackles and interceptions
1.7
0.90
If this is the type of profile Newcastle want to sign this summer, and they miss out on Elanga, they might end up with the better option in Adeyemi. The Dortmund attacker is quick, dangerous in transition and able to score and assist at a consistent level, more so than Elanga.
For £43m, a fee they’re clearly willing to spend, this seems like a fantastic addition to the Magpies’ squad, and could be a better option than the Forest star.
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