Newcastle Make Massive Offer For Sporting CP’s Bas Dost

With question marks surrounding the forward position on Tyneside, Newcastle has reportedly bid for Sporting CP forward Bas Dost.

Newcastle has been linked to Dost for several years now, dating back to his time at Wolfsburg. The Toon have offered €40 million for the 28-year-old from the Netherlands.

To say this piece of business is foolish would be putting it lightly. Dost joined Sporting last August for just €10 million. He dominated the Premiera Liga, leading the division with 34 goals in just 31 appearances.

While those 34 goals sound really appealing, it is hard to justify breaking the club transfer record on a 28-year-old who had one good year in a less than competitive league. The most goals Dost scored while in Germany in a year was 16. Newcastle would love to count on 16 goals for next year, but it was the only season in his four years that Dost scored more than eight goals.

In other words, thinking that Dost is a stellar forward option is a mistake. Newcastle would be paying for the player it hopes it gets rather than the one it is more likely to receive.

Instead, Newcastle should go after someone like Lucas Perez from Arsenal. Just a year after signing from Deportivo, he failed to feature much for the Gunners. Before that though, he scored 17 goals with 8 assists in La Liga. With Alexandre Lacazette entering the team now, his position could be in jeopardy. The Spaniard is rated around £20 million. He could provide Newcastle a player with Premier League experience for about half the price of Dost.

If not Perez, Rafa Benitez should look to Cedric Bakambu from Villareal. He would cost a bit more than Perez, but likely still less than Dost. He is a bit younger than Dost at 26. He scored 23 goals in La Liga over the past two seasons, and added 12 goals across 15 Europa League appearances in 2015.

Lastly, if Newcastle really wanted to make a splash, landing Timo Werner from RB Leipzig would do just that. The German youngster just put on a show at the Confederations Cup, scoring three goals in four matches. He has blazing speed and an incredible amount of potential at only 21 years old. He would likely cost the same amount as Dost, but provides far more upside. Don’t doubt his Premier League readiness either, he scored 21 goals in the Bundesliga this past season.

Overall, Dost is not the answer up top for Newcastle. However, there is no denying that infusion of attacking talent is crucial to the Magpies efforts to stay up this season.