As the January transfer season continues, Newcastle United, Southampton, and West Ham United all compete to sign forward Terem Moffi from Lorient
Football Insider reports that scouts from Newcastle United observed Moffi in Lorient’s 2-2 draw with AS Monaco this past week, but they’ll have to fight off several Premier League clubs to get the 23-year-old Nigerian striker.
Moffi’s performance in Ligue 1 this season has been outstanding. He has scored 11 goals to help propel his team to the top of the French league. He has scored three goals in Ligue 1 this season, tied for third place after Neymar (11) and Kylian Mbappe (13) of PSG.
The Nigerian international has become one of the best scorers in France in recent seasons after scoring 34 goals in 89 appearances for Les Merlus after being acquired from KV Kortrijk of Belgium for a bargain £7 million in October 2020.
With just 18 months remaining on his current contract at Stade du Moustoir, Lorient may be compelled to lower their asking price for Moffi despite their reluctance to allow one of their greatest assets to depart in the midst of the season. Many teams have shown interest in signing him as a consequence, particularly those from the Premier League.
One of the first clubs to express interest was Southampton. According to Football Insider, the Saints offered £20 million for the striker, but Lorient rejected the bid because they want a far larger sum of money in exchange for Moffi.
Furthermore, number of teams have shown interest in signing the Lorient striker, but Newcastle has now entered the fray in the hopes that they can outbid their rivals for the player’s services if manager Eddie Howe decides he is an asset to the club’s squad.
Callum Wilson, Newcastle’s current striker, is superb, although he is injury prone and well into his 30s. Chris Wood, who is well into his 30s and has struggled to deliver the goods in front of goal for the Toon, is set to be replaced this summer. Alexander Isak is the last remaining candidate for the number nine place.
Since this is the case, a high-quality acquisition like Moffi would serve both immediate and future requirements admirably. The presence of a wasteful striker like Wood hasn’t helped the Magpies capitalize on the many scoring opportunities they’ve created.
Moffi’s ability to run in behind, link up play, and (to a lesser degree) hold the ball up and make things happen would make him a vast improvement over Wood. Moffi, at 23 years old, has the potential to one day replace Wilson and create a lethal offensive partnership alongside Isak. While Newcastle will certainly keep an eye on the Nigerian international, Southampton, Bournemouth, Everton, Aston Villa, Leicester City, and West Ham are all interested in signing Moffi, making it difficult for Dan Ashworth and company to get him.
