An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in signing a new striker during the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

According to Football Insider, the Magpies sent scouts to watch Lorient centre-forward Terem Moffi in action earlier this week.

The report claims that the club are eyeing up number nine options to snap up either this month or in the summer window.

It is also stated that fellow Premier League side Southampton have had an offer of £20m rejected for the attacker.

Alex Crook, of talkSPORT, recently revealed that the Ligue 1 outfit are demanding a fee of at least £25m for the attacker, who is also attracting interest from West Ham United, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Magpies are willing to meet their demands.

Huge upgrade

Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth could now land a huge upgrade on Chris Wood, who joined the club from Burnley last January, by signing Moffi this month.

Since arriving at St. James' Park at the start of 2022, the New Zealand international has scored three goals in 34 Premier League appearances for the Magpies.

Whilst he is currently behind Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak in the pecking order, Wood proved that he is a liability to the team by missing a 'big chance' in the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round.

Joelinton put the ball on a plate for the striker to fire past the goalkeeper unchallenged in the box only for the ex-Clarets man to smash it high and wide of the posts, ultimately costing Newcastle their place in the competition.

Moffi, on the other hand, has been in fine form in Ligue 1 this season. Talent scout Jacek Kulig described him as "prolific" and the gem's statistics back that up as he has plundered 11 goals in 16 starts for Lorient in the French top-flight.

He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.05, after scoring eight goals in 34 starts last term, and that is far more impressive than Wood's 6.64.

Moffi, who was once hailed as a "man of gold" by his former manager Christophe Pelissier, is also eight years younger than the current Newcastle forward and this means that he would have more long-term value and development potential than the 31-year-old.

Therefore, the Nigerian international would be a huge upgrade on Wood for a number of reasons as he could offer more in terms of his end product, his average performance level, and years that he could help the team for.