Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe could complete a marquee swoop for Hungarian machine Dominik Szoboszlai this summer, with the RB Leipzig ace attracting attention after his stellar showings this season.
What's the latest on Dominik Szoboszlai to Newcastle?
The 22-year-old has illuminated the German Bundesliga in coruscating light this season, with Sky Germany now reporting that Szoboszlai is an 'internally discussed destination' for the Magpies.
The report states that United technical director Dan Ashworth has highlighted central defence, the offensive right flank and the centre of midfield as the areas for investment this summer, with Szoboszlai fitting the bill to enhance the ambitious club's prospects.
The ace has a €70m (£61m) release clause in his contract, and while Leipzig are accepting of this value, they will rebuff any advances that fall below this sum.
Should Newcastle sign Dominik Szoboszlai?
What an ascension Howe and co have masterminded over the past 18 months, Newcastle rose from the rubble and pushed relegation fears aside last term to now boast a Champions League-contending squad.
It has been nothing short of emphatic and the work has been astute, with the likes of Kieran Trippier (£12m), Dan Burn (£13m) and Nick Pope (£10m) helping form the Premier League's most imperious defence.
Prolific talisman Alexander Isak was signed for a club-record £63m, and it looks like St. James' Park will have to break the bank again to secure a return to the Champions League, but Szoboszlai's skill set is so impressive that it would be ludicrous not to attempt to seal his services.
This season, the "vigorous" gem – as described by analyst Bálint Békési – has scored eight goals and supplied 13 assists from 43 appearances across all competitions, with Marco Rose's outfit on course for a top-four finish this term, behind only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in the scoring charts.
As per FBref, the 30-cap ace ranks among the top 15% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues for rate of assists, the top 9% for shot-creating actions, the top 5% for passes attempted and the top 14% for progressive passes, illustrating his efficacy as a creative whiz, deployed across the three attacking thirds in the midfield to equally devastating effect.
Manchester United phenom Bruno Fernandes is listed as the £71k-per-week maestro's most comparable player, with the Portuguese himself ranking among the top 3% of positional peers for shot-creating actions and the top 4% for progressive passes, hailed as a "creative monster" by Statman Dave last month.
The £240k-per-week Portuguese has been instrumental to the Red Devils since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon for a potential £68m in 2019, scoring 61 goals and serving 54 assists from 181 outings and helping to end the Theatre of Dreams trophy drought this year, gleaning the Carabao Cup against Howe's Magpies.
Had Szoboszlai been pulling the strings for the Tyneside team on that fateful day, the outcome might have been very different indeed, but alas, Newcastle's ascension hit a bump in the road.
It didn't last, though, and with the high-octane outfit only set to continue to harness their newfound calibre, a signing of Szoboszlai's ilk could nail down flourishing fortunes.