Newcastle United could rise to elite level by winning £30m race for Everton and Spurs target

The final days of what has been a draining summer transfer window have finally arrived - and that brings with it the usual tidal wave of speculation at Newcastle United.

The Magpies have endured a challenging start to the season, with their impressive opening day win against Aston Villa followed up by defeats at treble winners Manchester City and at home to ten-man Liverpool. Another severe test of their credentials will come on Saturday evening when Eddie Howe’s men round off a tough week with a visit to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The focus will remain elsewhere before that long trip to the south coast as United wait to learn their Champions League fate when the group stage draw takes place on Thursday before transfer deadline day arrives just hours later. New faces have already arrived at St James’ Park and there could be at least one more new addition before the window ‘slams shut’ on Friday night - but could that new face be PSV Eindhoven’s Belgian international winger Johan Bakayoko?

We’ve taken a close look at a player attracting interest from a number of clubs across the Premier League.

What is the current state of play at Newcastle as transfer deadline day approaches?

The main focus for the Magpies during the final week of the window is on departures, rather than adding further new faces to Eddie Howe’s squad. It has already been a progressive window the United after they concluded permanent deals for Southampton full-back Tino Livramento, AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali and Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes. A season-long loan deal for Chelsea youngster Lewis Hall was also secured and that will be converted into a permanent move to Tyneside when certain criteria in the agreement is met.

Their first deal of the summer has gone slightly under the radar due to the high-profile signings that followed but the Magpies also finalised the signing of highly-rated Odense winger Yankuba Minteh before sending the 19-year-old Gambia international on a season-long loan to Dutch champions Feyenoord.

There have been outgoings with Allan Saint-Maximin joining Saudi Arabia Pro-League club Al-Ahli and goalkeeper Karl Darlow made a cut-price switch to Championship club Leeds United. Chris Wood’s loan move to Nottingham Forest was also converted into a permanent switch to the City Ground. Several Magpies players have ventured out on loan with Harrison Ashby, Jamal Lewis and Ryan Fraser joining Swansea City, Watford and Southampton respectively. United are also expecting to field further loan bids for several of their academy products from clubs across the EFL and Scotland.

It is not expected to be the most hectic of periods at St James’ Park as Friday’s deadline rapidly approaches. Full-back Javier Manquillo could depart over the coming days and has interest from two clubs in Spain. Long-serving midfielder Isaac Hayden was close to joining Luton Town on loan but the move is now believed to have fallen through and United are keen to get midfielder Jeff Hendrick off their wage bill as he remains training with the club’s youngsters.

There is believed to be tentative interest in Magpies defensive duo Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Targett - although an injury to Sven Botman could scupper both moves with Dan Burn likely to switch to centre-back to cover the former Lille star during his absence. There have been suggestions Howe could look to make an unplanned move into the transfer market to provide extra cover for Botman should the Magpies receive bad news over the severity of the injury.

Howe gave little away when he was asked the question in the aftermath of Sunday’s late defeat against Liverpool, saying: “We'll have to wait and see, speak to the medical team and see how bad the injury is. It looks like an ankle problem, I don't know how bad it is at this stage.”

Why would they show an interest in Bakayoko?

Since Dan Ashworth was persuaded to swap life with Brighton and Hove Albion for a role as Newcastle’s sporting director, there has been a determination to be at the forefront of the race for the most promising players in world football. A look at the ‘gems’ unearthed during Ashworth’s time with the Seagulls gives an indication of where the Magpies want to be after the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Leandro Trossard all made big money moves after joining Brighton for surprisingly modest fees.

Ashworth’s influence has already paid dividends with the Magpies previously skeletal recruitment team now boasting a whole host of new arrivals at both academy and senior level. The new look structure has already played a role in securing moves for the likes of AC Milan youngster Cathal Heffernan, Australia international Garang Kuol and Bohemians goalkeeper Reece Byrne.

Newcastle had been credited with an interest in several South America youngsters during the summer transfer after monitoring the progress of Brazil duo Andrey Santos and Gabriel prior to their moves to Chelsea and Flamengo’s Matheus Franca, who made a £16 million move to Crystal Palace earlier this month.

United recruitment staff and representatives are believed to have taken in games featuring clubs from La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Eredivise across the first month of the season and it would be no surprise if Bakayoko had not caught the eye after making an impressive start to the campaign.

The 20-year-old has already provided four assists in six games in all competitions for PSV and is playing a lead role as the Dutch giants look to come through their Champions League play-off round tie with Rangers on Wednesday night after the two sides battled to a 2-2 draw at Ibrox last week.

There is said to be widespread interest in the Belgium international after Burnley were unsuccessful with a £17m bid earlier this month and Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are all said to be keen on the young winger. Although Bakayoko is yet to find the net, he has shown plenty of attacking threat and plays with the pace and intensity that is so revered by managers across the Premier League.

How would Bakayoko fit into Eddie Howe’s side?

Whether Newcastle’s reported interest or desire to sign the winger is genuine is open to question given the number of options Eddie Howe possesses in wide areas remains open to question. The Magpies boss could already call on the services of Miguel Almiron, Jacob Murphy, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon prior to the summer signing of Harvey Barnes.

The impressive pre-season form of Elliot Anderson has forced the youngster into the reckoning and the versatile Alexander Isak is another option to feature on the left-hand side. Long-serving Howe favourite Matt Ritchie also remains part of the United squad.

With Gordon, Barnes, Anderson and Joelinton all viewed as serious options on the left-hand side of Howe’s front there, there is an arguement to suggest there could be a need to bring in a new face to upgrade on the opposite flank in the near future. Murphy, although trusted by Howe and viewed as an important squad member, has never really tied down a regular place in the starting eleven and that leaves Almiron as the favoured option on the right-hand side.

Bakayoko’s rapid progression over the last 12 months leaves a small sample size for comparisons with his potential team-mates - but he did provide a similar number of goal contributions (seven goals, five assists) as Almiron (eleven goals, two assists) and double Murphy’s tally of six (four goals and two assists).

Bakayoko’s passing accuracy across the season (77.6%) falls short of Almiron’s 82.6% but is an upgrade on the 66.1% achieved by Murphy but the PSV star does sit above his two potential team-mates when it comes to his shot creating actions with an average of 4.85 per 90 minutes, compared to Murphy’s 3.52 and Almiron’s 3.14. The same can be said of goal creating actions with Bakayoko averaging 0.85 per 90 minutes compared to Almiron’s average of 0.47 and Murphy’s 0.43.

One of Howe’s non-negotiables must come into consideration with the Magpies boss demanding hard work and intensity from his wide players in both halves of the pitch. Surprisingly, given Murphy and Almiron’s notable work-rate, both players provide fall short of Bakayoko’s tackles, blocks and interceptions per 90 minutes and the PSV star has a higher rate of all three actions in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch, showing he is capable of fitting into Howe’s philosophy.

Although it must again be stressed there should be a pinch of salt taken over the reports of interest from Newcastle and there is a need to consider the respective strength of the Eredivise and Premier League, Bakayoko would seem to provide Howe with a clear upgrade on Murphy and a genuine challenger to Almiron for a regular place in his side.