Newcastle join the race to sign “phenomenal” £30m star who just reached major milestone

Newcastle United are looking to improve their attack, with Yoane Wissa and Matias Fernandez-Pardo falling short of expectations so far this season.

Fernandez-Pardo’s summer move to St. James’ Park hasn’t exactly looked like great business up to this point, with the Belgian failing to score in his opening seven matches across all competitions.

As such, fellow striker Wissa has been in and out of the starting XI, but the DR Congo international has already missed five big chances in the Premier League, which is the joint-eighth highest number of any player in the division.

In truth, the 30-year-old has largely struggled since arriving from Brentford in the summer of 2025, scoring just four goals in 41 matches, although Alan Shearer believes he has been showing signs of improvement.

REUTERS/Scott Heppell

Speaking back in October, Shearer said: “In general, Yoane Wissa’s performances have been good. You’ve seen a different Wissa to what we saw last season. We didn’t see enough of him last season because of injuries, but I think in the main, he’s given Newcastle a little bit more, but he does need to score more goals.

“I know he’s at times played as a 10 and I can’t fault his work rate at all. His work rate has been excellent, but he does need to add goals to his game too.”

However, with the Magpies winning just one of their last five Premier League matches, patience is seemingly wearing thin, and an in-form striker has now been identified as a target.

Newcastle enter race to sign Will Lankshear

Action Images/John Clifton

Will Lankshear has been attracting attention, in light of his performances for Middlesbrough in the Championship this season, and Newcastle have now entered the race for his signature, according to a report from Football Insider.

Lankshear joined Boro from Tottenham for £10m back in the summer, but his price tag has already tripled to £30m this season, having scored 15 goals in all competitions, and he remains the top scorer in the Championship.

In fact, the 21-year-old has reached a major milestone this season, as he has already had his best season in front of goal to date, with his previous highest total coming on loan at Oxford United last term, during which time he was on the scoresheet 12 times.

Striker coach Scott Chickelday has given a glowing review of the former Tottenham man too, saying: “It is his ruthlessness in front of goal and his consistency in hitting the target. His shots-on-target ratio is phenomenal. In our sessions, he rarely misses the target at all. I am not saying that he is scoring with every single shot but he does work the goalkeeper.”

That said, the Englishman is yet to prove himself above the Championship, and Boro are reluctant to sanction a January move, so Newcastle may be better off waiting until the end of the season before pursuing a move.