Newcastle eye move for “magical” ace who’s far better than Almiron & Murphy

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United were the Premier League’s main entertainers in December, as the super-confident Magpies ended up scoring goals by the bucket load on the way to some convincing victories being picked up.

Indeed, across the entire month in all competitions, the Toon fired home a ridiculous 21 strikes, which then saw Howe’s men rise up the league standings to a pretty fifth position.

Still, there are spots in his team that the Magpies manager will want to improve during the transfer window, with concerns over depth arising down the right channel.

Newcastle considering move for “magic” attacker

As per a report by journalist Graeme Bailey, various different Premier League clubs are considering a move for Celtic ace Nicolas Kuhn this January, as the Bhoys attacker continues to tear Scottish Premiership defences to shreds.

The report states that Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace are all keen alongside Newcastle, with the Magpies in for an almighty battle to win their desired man.

But, with it looking increasingly likely that Miguel Almiron will depart St James’ Park this month according to reports, Newcastle will hope they can be successful in this pursuit.

Moreover, the “magic” Magpies target – as he was once labelled by current boss Brendan Rodgers – would offer Jacob Murphy some great competition on Tyneside if a move does get finalised, with the German winger far surpassing the 29-year-old’s numbers playing in Scotland this season.

What Nicolas Kuhn could offer Newcastle

It does appear that the in-demand German has outgrown his surroundings at Celtic Park – hence all this frenzied interest coming from England – with the ex-RB Leipzig man just toying with defenders week in week out now in Scotland.

This campaign to date, Kuhn has fired home an outrageous 14 goals from 25 overall games, with a further 11 assists also tallied up.

One of those sublime strikes even came on Europe’s grandest stage as the tricky Bhoys number 10 delicately curled an opportunity home in the Champions League, which is a competition Newcastle would love to compete in again very soon if they can enter into the top four spots in the Premier League in 2025.

Adding in top-quality talents such as Kuhn could help them achieve that far-off goal, with the Toon also wanting to get rid of some deadwood now surfacing in their camp in the form of Almiron down the right.

Kuhn over the last year vs Murphy & Almiron
Stat – per 90 mins	Kuhn	Murphy	Almiron
Shot-creating actions	2.93	3.77	2.08
Progressive passes	3.71	3.68	2.43
Progressive carries	3.12	2.65	2.43
Successful take-ons	2.73	0.76	0.93
Touches in attacking penalty area	5.66	3.68	4.17
Progressive passes received	9.57	8.25	5.56
Stats by FBref

Looking at the table above, it’s clear that Kuhn would fit in well with the gung-ho style of play Newcastle have perfected over recent weeks, with more progressive carries and successful take-ons managed over the last year compared to both Murphy and Almiron.

On top of that, his goal and assist numbers for the campaign to date completely blow Murphy out of the water, who has just nine goal contributions in all competitions in contrast.

Also similar to Anthony Gordon according to FBref’s similar players feature, Kuhn could well seamlessly fit into the set-up under Howe, with the potential for the Magpies to cause even more issues for Premier League defences to cope with if the Celtic attacker relocates to Tyneside.

Whilst Howe will likely be content with what he has currently, January will be an apt time for him to add even more quality to make 2025 a memorable year at St James’ Park.