Newcastle reportedly preparing Marega bid | OneFootball

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Malian striker Moussa Marega…

What’s the talk?

According to Foot Mercato, the Magpies are preparing an offer to sign the centre-forward permanently from Al-Hilal this month.

The report claims that fellow Premier League side Everton are also keen, whilst it remains to be seen what the player’s intentions are.

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Ba 2.0

Eddie Howe could find Newcastle’s Demba Ba 2.0 in a deal for the forward. He has earned the nickname ‘terminator’ and this is what he could be for the Magpies with his lethal finishing in front of goal potentially helping them to avoid relegation down to the Championship.

Marega has 105 career goals to his name and 72 of those came during a terrific spell with FC Porto in Portugal. He managed 72 goals and 33 assists in 190 games for the Portuguese giants, which works out at a goal contribution every 1.8 matches on average.

The 30-year-old also played for Maritimo and Vitoria in Liga Bwin and produced an impressive 77 strikes and 37 assists in 180 matches in the division for the three clubs combined. This works out at a goal contribution every 1.57 games.

Demba Ba, meanwhile, managed 29 goals and seven assists in 58 games for Newcastle. This means that he popped up with a goal or assist every 1.61 outings on average, which is a remarkably similar rate to the one Marega produced in the Portuguese top-flight – suggesting that he could have a similarly big impact on Tyneside as the Senegalese forward.

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Marega was once hailed by Porto boss Sergio Conceicao, with the coach saying:

“A lot of people criticize Marega because they think his technique is not the best, but for me that’s what technique is, the movement he makes, being in the face of the goal with incredible ease, the way he catches the ball when shooting on goal. For me that’s what counts in a player and not juggling, that this is in the circus and we are a football team.”

Newcastle could land their new Ba and goalscoring ‘terminator’ by securing a deal for Marega and Howe must ensure that PIF are able to get a move over the line before the end of the month. His goals and assists could win crucial points for the Magpies and help them in the battle against the drop.