Newcastle United have until 11 pm on Thursday to finish any remaining signings that they want to make in the summer transfer window.
The Magpies have made four additions to their squad so far, with Sven Botman, Alexander Isak, Matt Targett, and Nick Pope all coming through the door on permanent deals.
Eddie Howe’s men have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign with one win and three draws – including a 3-3 thriller against champions Manchester City.
However, there is still room to improve and the head coach could end the window with a bang by reigniting the club’s move to sign Jack Harrison from Leeds to bolster their wide options.
He would be a huge upgrade on the club’s other wingers in terms of the goal threat that he can provide from that area of the pitch, whilst also providing high levels of creativity.
Earlier this month, Sky Sports reported that the Whites want a fee in excess of £60m to allow him to leave this summer.
Meanwhile, The Athletic’s David Ornstein claimed that the Magpies have had two bids rejected for the winger, with the second one being worth more than £20m, and Ben Jacobs has said that £35m would be enough to tempt the Yorkshire-based outfit.
Howe must now push for Newcastle to reignite their swoop with a third bid in an attempt to convince their top-flight rivals to meet them in the middle on the valuation.
If they can strike a deal for the Englishman then it would be a stunning end to the window as he would be a sublime addition to the squad, with the willingness to make two offers for him suggesting that the manager believes he would suit his style of play.
He ranks in the 81st percentile or higher out of players in his position over the last 365 days for pressures, tackles, blocks, and interceptions per 90, which indicates that he would fit in with the head coach’s pressing style as he can force turnovers.
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch previously heaped praise on the former MLS man’s fitness, saying: “He can run all day, he is explosive, he’s effective in 1-v-1s, he’s dangerous, he’s smart. I’m asking him to play a different role, I want him to play a little bit more of an interior player. I just want to give him the confidence to apply our ideas of football and achieve.
“His application [of shooting] in the first game was really good.”
Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, Harrison has scored 17 goals and set up 12 in the Premier League – creating 16 ‘big chances’.
In the same time, Saint-Maximin has scored ten goals and provided 11 assists, whilst producing 15 ‘big chances’. Miguel Almiron, meanwhile, has failed to break more than five of any of the aforementioned contributions at the top end of the pitch in just over two seasons.
This shows that Harrison, who still has room to develop at the age of 25, would be an upgrade on what Howe currently has to work with, both in terms of scoring and creating goals in the English top-flight.
The wide man knows exactly what it takes to perform in the Premier League and this means that he would be a low-risk signing who could hit the ground running as he would not need to adapt to the division.
Therefore, Howe can now end the window with a bang by securing a blockbuster swoop for Harrison to light up the wings at St. James’ Park this season.