According to The Chronicle, Newcastle are keeping a track of Stade Reims striker Boulaye Dia.
What's the story?
Despite seeing summer signing Callum Wilson hit the ground running at St James' Park with six goals in his opening nine games for the club, the Magpies are already seeing why just having one top striker isn't enough.
With news revealing that the England international is set to miss at least the next couple of weeks with an injury, Steve Bruce will be without one of the Magpies' star men this season, and once again having to call on the likes of Joelinton and Andy Carroll to potentially lead the line.
The Chronicle now claim that Newcastle have checked out Dia, who is impressing scouts up and down the Premier League with his scintillating performances for Reims this campaign.
Better than Wilson
Even despite Wilson's hot start on Tyneside, it doesn't hold a candle to how Dia has kicked things off this season in France. The 24-year-old has bagged an impressive eight goals in eight league games, including a stunning hat-trick away at Montpellier - in fact, he became the first Reims player to score three times in the top-flight since Santiago Santamaria back in 1978.
And when you look at his style of play, he could potentially even be a long-term upgrade on the Magpies' summer signing. Both have played the same number of league games this season, and Dia comfortably outshines Wilson in many key areas.
He averages 2.3 shots and 1.3 successful dribbles per game compared to Wilson's 1.6 shots and 0.6 dribbles. And whilst there may be the suggestion that the latter is being hamstrung by Bruce's tactics at St James' Park, he has also been less efficient too, missing three big chances and losing possession almost ten times per match. Dia, on the other hand, has missed just the one and has lost possession less than eight times per game.
The Magpies of course have already seen the fruits of landing a young striker who cut his teeth in France before seeing him flourish in the Premier League, in Loic Remy. They could find someone close to following that same road in the £7.2m-rated Dia.