An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Nicolas Jackson ahead of the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies are one of the Premier League clubs eyeing up the 21-year-old winger after being impressed by his performances.

The report claims that Everton and Newcastle have both been tracking the youngster this season, whilst Aston Villa have now joined the race for his signature due to his pre-existing relationship with Unai Emery - who managed him at Villarreal.

It is stated that the attacker will be available on a pre-contract deal in January as his current terms with the Spanish side expire at the end of the campaign.

Eddie Howe's own Neymar

Newcastle could land the manager his own version of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar as Jackson has been compared to the Brazil international in his home country of Senegal.

Journalist Ashley Preece described him as a player with "bags of potential" and, at the age of 21, he is not someone who would be joining the club with the expectation of being an instant star.

Jackson is a player who could be signed with a view to the future as he is someone Howe could work with over the course of a number of years to help him live up to the Neymar comparisons.

The wide man, who journalist Josh Bunting once dubbed "exciting", has shown plenty of promise in his short career so far. He scored seven goals and provided eight assists in 27 appearances for Villarreal B, playing 25 of those matches in the third tier of Spanish football.

His form in the B team led to him being given a first-team chance this season and he has caught the eye with two goals and two assists, whilst creating four 'big chances', in eight La Liga starts. He has also scored one goal in one start in the Europa Conference League for the Yellow Submarine, which shows that he has the potential to thrive on the European stage as well as domestic level.

This means that he has five direct goal contributions in nine starts between those two competitions and shows that he could be a terrific signing for Newcastle, as he has the scope to develop into a player capable of regularly delivering quality in the final third.

He may not go on to score 289 career goals like Neymar but he is a versatile and tricky player who can play anywhere across the frontline and has the ability to be a difference-maker in matches, just like the Brazilian.

It appears to be, on paper, a worthwhile gamble for Newcastle to snap Jackson up on a free transfer as he has shown huge potential at Villarreal and could develop into Howe's own phenomenal wing talent.