Newcastle United weigh up move for goal-per-game striker as he makes international debut

Newcastle United are blessed with two exciting strikers in Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson who have impressively scored a total of 10 goals between them in the opening eight league games. The duo were a key component of Newcastle’s success last season as they returned to the Champions League places and they even showed signs that they even could play together effectively during the second half of the season when Isak drifted to a wider area.

However, as it stands they are the only two senior centre forwards in the entire squad and manager Eddie Howe is determined to find a third striker in January to complement the pair. The name on Newcastle’s radar is in-form Bayer Leverkusen attacker Victor Boniface, according to reports from Sun Sport.

The 22-year-old has smashed in an impressive seven goals from seven matches this season and has propelled his team to top spot in the Bundesliga table. The forward is described by TeamTalk as someone who has very different traits to both Wilson and Isak and he excels in physical battles and is renowned for bringing other attackers into the game with his strong hold up play.

This is emphasised by Boniface’s assist record for Belgian outfit Union-Saint Gilloise last season - where he scored nine and provided eight assists. The 6ft 3 forward also has strong credentials in European football and was the top scorer in the Europa League last term with six goals from 10 appearances.This form earned him a spot in the Europa league Team of The Tournament last term as his team reached the quarter-finals.

Boniface scored during the quarter-final exit against Bayer Leverkusen which prompted the German outfit to sign him for £12m. The attacker has quickly adapted to German football and his excellent start to the season earned him international recognition as he was called up to represent Nigeria in a recent international friendly with Saudi Arabia.

Boniface failed to score on his Super Eagles debut but won plaudits for his link up play with Victor Oshimen, while he also forced the Saudi Arabia goalkeeper into an own goal.

Newcastle scouts were reportedly in attendance for the game as they eye up a move for a third forward as they aim to be competitive on the European and domestic stage. In recent months Isak has shown the versatility to play wide on occasions, while Wilson at the age of 31 has often struggled with hamstring injuries throughout his career.

A third forward would allow Newcastle to potentially use two strikers at the same time and would cover for the injury crisis which occurred last December, when the now departed Chris Wood was the only available centre forward for a number of weeks.