Newcastle United avoided falling through the Premier League trap door in the 2021/22 campaign as they achieved a comfortable midtable finish in the top-flight.

Eddie Howe led the team out of trouble after staring relegation in the face in the first half of the season and will now be looking to push on next term.

Dan Ashworth has been appointed as the club's sporting director and the pair will now be working with each other to improve the squad in the coming months.

One player the club have been linked with a move for is Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca and the club must ensure that they can strike a deal for him.

Andy Carroll 2.0

The 6 foot 4 Italian can be the new Carroll - 6 foot 3 - for Newcastle as he is a well-rounded centre-forward who can be the focal point of Howe's attack next season.

Throughout his time in the Premier League, the former Toon striker has scored 24 goals with his left foot, 24 with his head and six with his right. This shows the level of versatility he has in front of goal as he offers a threat on the floor and in the air.

In his short career to date, Scamacca - who reportedly rejected a £35m move to Arsenal - has scored 12 headers, 19 with his right foot and two free-kicks

Ex-Italy U21 coach Luigi Di Biagio previously commented on his all-round game, saying:

“He can become a very high-level centre-forward.

“He has the technique of a 1.75 m tall player and the physicality of a 1.95 m tall player, like him. And then he is complete: right foot, left, head, he attacks from deep, but also plays on the edge for his teammates.”

These comments, along with their respective statistics, suggest that the Italian centre-forward can be the new Carroll at St. James' Park.

His goalscoring record in the Serie A also proves that he can score goals on a regular basis, along with being a complete player. He scored 16 goals in 25 league starts for Sassuolo and this shows that he can be a huge signing for Howe.

Scamacca is a prolific scorer and can lead the line for the Magpies in the Premier League next season, much like Carroll did prior to his move to Liverpool.

Therefore, Howe and Ashworth must work hard to complete a deal for the number nine so that he can showcase his goalscoring talents whilst playing in black and white next season.

AND in other news, Howe can axe £25m NUFC flop by signing "frightening" £94m predator who's "the future"...