NEWCASTLE are desperate to make Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos their first major signing this month, according to reports.
The Colombian star is at top of their transfer hit list in the first window since Newcastle became the richest club in the world after their Saudi takeover last year.
And goal-machine Morelos could cost just £20million to prise away from Scotland’s Premiership champions.
According to American outlet CBS Sports, Morelos is an ‘urgent target’ for Newcastle after injuries to Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin in their recent draw with Manchester United has left them bare in attack.
However, Rafa Benitez’s Everton and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City are also interested in recruiting Morelos.
Both English Premier League clubs are reportedly also monitoring the 25-year-old Colombian international’s situation.
Morelos has been a sensation since he joined Rangers for just £1million from HJK Helsinki in 2017.
He has scored 107 goals for the club, and is affectionately known as El Bufalo by the fans.
It comes as Morelos’ Rangers team-mate Nathan Patterson is on the verge of joining Everton for a club-record selling fee of £10million.
It has been 14 years since Rangers last broke their record sale when Alan Hutton joined Tottenham for £9m in 2008.
Benitez could potentially make a double swoop on Gers as he looks to add depth to his side to help them climb up the Premier League table.
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Newcastle are reportedly the favourites to land the 25-year-old’s signature though and it will be extremely tough for their rivals to compete financially after their $400 million Saudi-led takeover in October.
The Magpies have entered their first transfer window under their new financial leadership and the Rangers striker could potentially be one of their first signings in the new era.
In October, Rangers’ sporting director Ross Wilson claimed that the club doesn’t need to sell prized assets like Morelos in the upcoming window.
Now that Patterson is closing in on his move to Merseyside, it shows that the club can be tempted into cashing in on their players.
Meanwhile, former Rangers star Kyle Lafferty reckons Morelos’ transformation at Ibrox has been extraordinary.
He said: “When Alfredo came to Rangers he was young and raw. He still is young.
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“Watching games at first I would be pulling my hair out! He just always wanted to shoot.
“He had that instinct that he just wanted to shoot whenever he got the ball and no matter where he was in relation to the goal.
“But going in a year later as a team mate he was in transition and in recent years the transformation in his game has been extraordinary.
“He has come from a player who just wants to score goals to becoming basically the complete player.”
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