Newcastle United have seen Sven Botman and Nick Pope make moves to St. James' Park during the current summer transfer window as Eddie Howe looks to take charge of his first full season as the Toon manager.

One other deal that has surrounded the Tyneside club over the past few weeks is one including Stade Reims striker Hugo Ekitike.

However, it has since been reported that the Magpies have pulled out of a potential deal for the attacker due to negotiations with the player's agent going awry, despite a deal with Reims and personal terms with the player were apparently already agreed.

With that in mind, another player that has been mentioned with a move to Newcastle this summer that could be their dream alternative to Ekitike is Bayern Munich's Joshua Zirkzee.

After scoring 50 goals in 98 appearances for the German club across their senior and youth sides, the 21-year-old enjoyed a rather successful loan spell with RSC Anderlecht in Belgium last season.

In 47 appearances across all competitions, the youngster found the net 18 times and supplied 13 assists in the process.

With 64 shots at goal in total in the league last season, 30 of which were on target, Zirkzee ended the campaign with a higher rate of goals per shot (0.23) than any other player at Anderlecht.

To further highlight what sort of player he is, Bayern's academy manager Holger Seitz had this to say about the striker.

"He's the kind of player who is highly sought-after: a powerful striker who keeps his cool and doesn't let himself be caught out. He has a great understanding of football and reacts quickly to different situations."

Taking all of this into account, it's safe to say that were the Magpies able to bring the young striker to St. James' Park this summer, it would put to bed any thoughts about their doomed move for Ekitike.

With Bayern reportedly looking to get a fee of €10m (£8.5m) for the attacker, this is something that Newcastle should not think twice about completing, especially after the disappointment of not landing the Reims striker.

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