Newcastle's 'desperate' transfer pursuit could end up handing Liverpool millions

Newcastle United are 'desperate' to sign a new striker before their next game, according to reports.

The Magpies are still reeling from Saturday's embarrassing FA Cup third round exit when they were humbled at home by third-tier side Cambridge United.

Joe Ironside hit the only goal of the game to stun the vast majority of the 50,000-strong crowd inside St James' Park.

It was also another low point for the club's new owners, who have only witnessed one victory in 13 games in all competitions since their takeover was ratified back in October.

Sky Sports say that a multi-player shortlist has been devised which includes Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke, Liverpool's Divock Origi and Burnley's Chris Wood.

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Bayer Leverkusen's Patrick Schick, Hugo Ekitike of French club Reims and Zenit striker Sardar Azmoun are also said to be on Newcastle's shortlist.

Bournemouth striker Solanke is a player who Newcastle boss Eddie Howe knows well. He signed him whilst in charge of the Cherries in 2019.

That deal, which saw Bournemouth fork out £24million for Solanke, also included a sell-on clause.

That entitles Liverpool to a 20 per cent profit on any future sale of Solanke by his current club. They would have to sell him for a fee greater than £24million for that to benefit the Reds.

But given his outstanding form this season - he has scored 18 Championship goals for the table-topping Cherries - as well as Newcastle's desire to get deals done quickly and an inflated transfer war chest to work with, there is every possibility they could come in with a bid tempting enough.

The Toon's mega-rich owners are eager to flex their financial muscles further in the January window to give the club a fighting chance of staying up.

The squad is currently struggling with both injuries and a clutch of Covid infections.

Kieran Trippier was purchased last week. The right-back arrived from Spanish champions Atletico Madrid for a fee of £12million and was seen as the first signing in what is likely to be a pivotal month for Howe's side.

The urgency to get more firepower in is due part to Newcastle facing fellow strugglers Watford this coming weekend.

The Hornets are two points above United heading into a crunch battle on Tyneside on Saturday afternoon.

Howe confirmed after that miserable Cambridge loss that the Saudi chiefs visited the players in the changing room after the humbling.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund, was joined by Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi to address the players at full-time.

Howe said: "They did pop in to see the players. I personally wasn't in there for that, then they saw me with my coaching team after.

"I believe they were very supportive to the players, highlighting the fact we're very much in this fight to stay in the league together, and they're very much behind everybody. I can't thank them enough for that support."