Newcastle put £35m man at top of striker shortlist as Howe confirms Chris Wood replacement plan

Newcastle United are keen to bid for Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a report has claimed, while Eddie Howe is looking for a different kind of forward to the departing Chris Wood.

Wood has left Newcastle after just 12 months, completing a move to Nottingham Forest. It has left the Magpies with just Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson as their options at centre-forward.

Therefore, Newcastle are drawing up a shortlist of who else could contribute to their attacking department. And a report from The Sun has revealed that they remain interested in Calvert-Lewin.

It has been a difficult couple of years for the England international due to injury issues. Simultaneously, his club Everton have struggled and are facing a rebuild.

Calvert-Lewin is someone they want to keep and construct a squad around. However, Newcastle could now test their resolve.

According to The Sun, Calvert-Lewin is “right at the top of the list” of Newcastle’s striker targets. Their interest stems from last summer and has not faded despite another difficult season for the 25-year-old, who has only scored once from 10 games so far.

Under contract with Everton until 2025, Calvert-Lewin could soon be the subject of a £35million move from Newcastle.

In an ideal world, Howe’s side want to bring him in this month. But they may end up waiting until the summer, the report says.

That may be when Calvert-Lewin is the most easily attainable, depending on whether Everton stay in the Premier League or suffer relegation to the Championship. While they are fighting for survival, after all, they do not want to deprive themselves of some key players.

But Newcastle have plenty of financial power, which may come in handy as they try to take Calvert-Lewin to the north east.

Howe hints at Newcastle plans to replace ‘outstanding’ Wood

Wood’s move to Forest was announced on Friday afternoon.

According to manager Howe, the former Burnley forward has been a big part of how Newcastle have transformed their fortunes in recent months, despite only scoring five goals from 39 games for the club.

Howe told a press conference on Friday morning: “He’s been a huge player for us.

“I have to say he has been outstanding in every way, because I think when we signed him we were in a very difficult league position. He’s played a huge part on the pitch to transform the team or help transform the team.

“Then this season he’s been excellent both on and off the pitch in terms of his leadership and positivity and when he’s not played. So you can’t underestimate the role he’s played.

“It was a difficult decision, taking into account the player and his wishes. But also I think it’s a good deal financially for the football club.”

When it comes to finding a successor to the target man, Howe has revealed he might look for a different kind of striker.

He added: “[We’re] hopefully planning to replace him. Certainly from my side there was no thought of letting a player go and not replacing because I think that would leave us dangerously short of players. But there’s no guarantees.

“I don’t think we’ll necessarily replace Chris with another Chris, if that makes sense.

“We’re not necessarily looking for that type of player in the market. But we’ll see what we can do with 11 days to go. It’s not long, but it’s got to be the right player, that’s always so important in any transfer deal we look to do.

“We would have targets we would pursue for sure and we’ll see how we go. I think it’s important not just to have one; we have a pool of players that we like.”

Howe was speaking ahead of Newcastle’s next match, which will be against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening.

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