Newcastle United are wasting no time in signing a permanent replacement for England international Anthony Gordon, who left the club last month.
The Magpies sold the former Everton star to Spanish giants Barcelona for a fee of £70m and are now looking to move into La Liga to sign his replacement.
The club are reportedly close to signing Osasuna winger Víctor Muñoz, with the deal potentially worth up to £35m including add-ons – half the fee they collected when signing Gordon.
Eddie Howe’s side are already planning for the 22-year-old star to potentially undergo a medical check in the United States while he plays for Spain at the World Cup.
This means the Magpies can secure a replacement for Gordon early on and not panic heading into the final week.
Newcastle United find out their Premier League target asking price
However, this is a risky move for Newcastle. That’s because Munoz has only scored six goals and provided two assists in La Liga in 2025/26, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to adapt to the Premier League and play in English football every week.
The club should therefore also look to sign players with a proven track record in England, and new updates on one of their domestic targets have revealed just how much they will have to pay for the new defender.
According to TEAMtalk, Leeds United are open to signing central defender Pascal Strujk when the summer transfer window opens.
The paper claims Los Blancos value the Dutch centre-back at up to £25m. That’s because he has one year left on his contract at Elland Road. This shows how much an interested team would have to offer in order for a bid for him to be accepted.
TEAMtalk’s report does not mention Newcastle, but it was reported elsewhere earlier this summer that the Magpies were eyeing a potential raid for the left-footed star to strengthen their squad.
PIF now understand they must make an offer of £25m if they want to secure a deal to bring Strujk to St James’ Park in the coming weeks.
Why Pascal Strujk is better suited to sign for Newcastle than Victor Munoz
The Dutchman will be £10m cheaper than Munoz, who is set to join for £35m, but would be an even better deal for the Magpies ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Unlike the Spain international, Strujk has a proven track record in the Premier League and will be able to hit the ground running right away as he knows the Premier League and what it takes to perform week in and week out in English football.
The 26-year-old started 33 of Leeds’ 34 games in the top flight, producing better performances than Howe’s current left-footed centre-back Dan Byrne in the division.
25/26PL | Dan Burns | pascal struik |
|---|---|---|
Appearance | 29 | 34 |
Number of dribble breakthroughs per game | 0.7x | 0.5x |
Clearance per game | 5.2 | 6.1 |
Number of tackles per game | 1.4 | 1.1 |
Interceptions per game | 0.7 | 0.9 |
Ground duel success rate | 47% | 55% |
Aerial duel success rate | 61% | 56% |
Number of fouls per game | 1.2 | 0.8 |
The Dutchman is eight years younger than Byrne and is entering the prime of his career, meaning he could arrive at St James’ Park as the perfect replacement for the England international.
Their respective defensive statistics in the Premier League this season show the Leeds star is an upgrade for Howe at the back, with him offering better in most key defensive metrics.
Strujk has also completed 88% of the passes he attempts in this department, compared to Byrne’s 79% success rate, and could potentially provide the team in possession with far more passes when building play from the back.
Newcastle should therefore pay the asking price of £25 million for the left-footed star. That’s because he arrives as the perfect upgrade to a Premier League-ready, ready-to-play defender.
That’s also why he’s an even better contract than Munoz. Given Muñoz’s attacking performance in La Liga, it seems unlikely that he will soon surpass Gordon, who also scored six goals and provided two assists in the Premier League.
The Spaniard is unproven in the Premier League, has no experience in England and would not be as ‘guaranteed’ of success as Struijk given his length of stay in West Yorkshire.
It will be up to the board to use his contract situation to secure a potential deal this summer and put £25m on the table for Leeds to accept.
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