Newcastle chasing £34m ace who’d be unplayable with Isak

Newcastle United have one foot in the Carabao Cup final and have returned to Champions League contention with their emphatic form over the winter period.

Here is a team completely comfortable in its own skin, delighting in exerting itself with robustness and physicality against opponents who, unless they meet fire with fire, are being turned over and picked apart by a ferocious mischief of Magpies.

Victory at the Emirates on Tuesday evening marked a seventh successive win in all competitions, with a winter turnaround changing the mood on Tyneside and rekindling the belief that greatness can be achieved under Eddie Howe‘s wing.

However, Newcastle do need to ensure that their market dealings bear riper fruits than last year, with the 2024 summer window generally viewed disapprovingly.

Bolstering the frontline is high on the list of priorities, with United in the chase for an exciting target.

Newcastle to strengthen up front

The Telegraph believe that Harvey Barnes could be in line for a shock departure from St. James’ Park this month, with the prolific wideman’s prospective sale placating PSR and allowing for investment.

Thus: as per Spanish sources, Newcastle are looking to jostle with Manchester United for the signing of Paris Saint-Germain winger Lee Kang-in, who could be available for around €40m (£34m).

Lee, aged 23, is in his second campaign with the Ligue 1 champions but is not always a starter for the Parisiens and is keen on the idea of assuming an important role at a team like Newcastle.

Typically playing on the right, he would suit Newcastle’s plans perfectly and could find that United’s renewed Champions League hopes hold sway, with Manchester United toiling in the bottom half of the table.

Why Newcastle want Lee Kang-in

Lee is an athletic and fast-paced winger with a balanced approach to his attacking game, posting 11 goals and seven assists

across 60 matches for PSG. In fact, his boss, Luis Enrique, has praised him as a “complete player.”

There might be a top partnership with someone like Alexander Isak in there, with the pace and technical assuredness certain to blend nicely with the Sweden striker’s qualities.

When looking at Isak’s influence on Newcastle’s improvements since December, you can see that Lee would be joining a frontline – including Anthony Gordon too – capable of wreaking havoc on defences across the country continent.

Isak is quite simply the finest centre-forward in the business right, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher recently saying that he’s “the best striker in the Premier League.”

More than just a goalscorer, he’s been the driving force behind his outfit’s success over the past few months, also averaging 1.7 key passes and 1.4 successful dribbles per Premier League match in 2024/25, as per Sofascore, which makes a telling comment on his roundedness, pushing forward, making intelligent movements and creating for his teammates.

That final part is of particular importance as far as Lee is concerned, for the South Korean sensation could hone his own ball-striking game on English shores, benefitting from the multi-functionality of a player who, at his core, is a deadly marksman. It would create fluidity and angles, something that has worked a treat for Gordon on the left flank.

While Lee has struggled to cement a moveless starting berth in Paris, this is hardly to the detriment of his exciting skill set. After all, his numbers in the French top flight this term make for compelling reading if you are of a Newcastle persuasion.

As per Sofascore, the South Korea international has scored six goals and added two assists across just nine starting outings in Ligue 1 this term, creating nine big chances, completing 91% of his passes and averaging 2.2 key passes and 2.6 successful duels per game.

He’s also impressing in the Champions League this season, a competition that the Magpies are looking to build a nest in permanently.

Not only does this demonstrate his confidence and big-game ability, but Lee is also proving that he can play well across a variety of environments, having previously cut his teeth at Valencia in La Liga.

As per FBref, Lee ranks among the top 1% of positional peers in Europe’s distinguished competition this season for pass completion (86%), shot-creating actions and progressive passes, as well as the top 10% for progressive carries and the top 4% for tackles (all metrics per 90 minutes).

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

His high-level technical quality has even seen him recorded against Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior – with FBref noting the pair as similar players – whose own Champions League campaign this season has seen five goals and an assist chalked from just five matches, including an emphatic hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund.

If Newcastle were to get their hands on a star of Lee’s ilk, operating in the same vein as one of the game’s biggest superstars in Vini Jr., there’s every chance that Howe’s project would enter a new level, one even more exciting than the current iteration that has brought so much joy to Tyneside.

PSG have been reported to have an interest in Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and could even look to complete a deal this month. This would only bloat their wide ranks further and, maybe, see the green light sparked for a stunning Newcastle swoop for Lee.