NEWCASTLE UNITED have not given up hope of signing Youssoufa Moukoko, although there is an acceptance that the highly-rated German teenager could be close to penning a new deal with Borussia Dortmund.
Newcastle had been hoping to pull off a deal for Moukoko, who was part of the Germany squad at the recent World Cup in Qatar, as talks between the 18-year-old and the Borussia Dortmund hierarchy had stalled.
Moukoko is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, and Newcastle were lining up a lucrative deal in an attempt to persuade the teenager to leave Germany in order to move to Tyneside this month.
However, the situation has changed in the last few days, with a new round of talks having taken place between Moukoko’s representatives and senior Borussia Dortmund officials at the German club’s training camp in Marbella.
German media reports suggest Dortmund are willing to pay Moukoko a signing-on fee of around £8.8m and have agreed to a basic salary of around £50,000-a-week that could rise as high as £85,000-a-week once bonuses are included.
The deal is still to be officially signed, meaning Newcastle have not given up all hope of a late change in circumstances, with Chelsea having dropping their own interest in the youngster following their signing of Joao Felix and Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Speaking in an interview with German sports publication Kicker, Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said: "We have put together a very attractive offer that gives him a lot of room for development.
"That should lead to a decision. He has to make it with his environment and his advisor.
"Youssoufa can now accept this offer and commit to Borussia Dortmund - or we will go our separate ways. I would like him to choose us because he is not yet at the end of his development and I see potential in him.
"But there are limits for us as a club. And we have shown these limits. Now it's up to him to confess in a timely manner."
Newcastle are currently reassessing their transfer priorities for the final fortnight of the window in the wake of the ankle injury that forced Bruno Guimaraes to miss the second half of yesterday’s 1-0 win over Fulham.
Guimaraes is due to have a scan in the next 24 hours to ascertain the full extent of the damage, with his injury further weakening Eddie Howe’s options at the heart of midfield.
Guimaraes joins a midfield injury list that already includes Jonjo Shelvey, who is set to be sidelined for around another a month with a calf problem.
To make matters worse, Elliot Anderson was also unavailable for yesterday’s game after suffering a calf injury of his own, and with his midfield resources dwindling dramatically, Howe admits he might have to prioritise the purchase of a replacement before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
“We’ll see how he (Guimaraes) is,” said the Magpies head coach. “I’ll assess the injury, but we are light in midfield, there’s no doubt about that. We’re missing Elliot (Anderson) as well, who’s another player who can play there, with what we think is a minor calf problem. We’ll get a diagnosis on Bruno’s injury and then make a decision.”
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