A claim has emerged on Newcastle United and their plans to strengthen their squad in the summer transfer window...
What's the latest on Marcus Thuram to Newcastle?
According to Spanish outlet Sport, the Magpies are one of a number of teams interested in signing Borussia Monchengladbach centre-forward Marcus Thuram as Eddie Howe eyes up a possible summer swoop.
The report claims that the Bundesliga outfit appear to have already given up any hope they had of securing a new contract for the French international, whose deal is due to expire at the end of the campaign.
His potential availability as a free agent in the summer has alerted a number of clubs, including the likes of Barcelona, Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Arsenal, alongside Newcastle.
Is Thuram a good successor to Callum Wilson?
The Magpies could now land the long-term heir to Callum Wilson's place in the squad by signing the £54k-per-week marksman on a free transfer.
In the Premier League this season, the current Toon forward has provided seven goals and three assists in 14 starts for Howe's side and has been a reliable option at the top end of the pitch.
However, the England international turns 31 later this month and has missed 32 competitive matches, through injury or illness, since the start of last term.
This suggests that Newcastle may want to start thinking about what life will look like past the ex-Bournemouth man's time at the club and Thuram could come in as the heir to his throne - to compete for a place in the side with Alexander Isak.
The French international, who was once described as "clinical" by journalist Raj Chohan, has been on fire in the Bundesliga this season with ten goals and three assists in 18 appearances - averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.09.
Gladbach's centre-forward also ranks in the top 12% of strikers in Europe's top five leagues over the last 365 days for non-penalty xG, whilst Wilson is also in the top 12%, and this shows that the 25-year-old gets into superb positions to accrue high-value chances based on xG.
These statistics show that the marksman, who assisted two goals in five substitute appearances at the World Cup, has the quality to be a regular, consistent, goalscorer in a major European league.
He has not proven himself in the Premier League, yet, but his exceptional form for Gladbach in Germany indicates that the forward has the potential to be an excellent addition to Newcastle's attacking ranks.
At the age of 25, Thuram is also five years younger than Wilson and could offer more to the club in the long term as a player Howe can work with on the training pitch to develop over the course of a number of seasons.
Therefore, sporting director Dan Ashworth and the Toon head coach could land the eventual heir to the English striker by snapping the Frenchman up on a free transfer in the summer.