Newcastle United have stolen a march on a number of potential suitors in the race to sign Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers, reports the Express.
Austin enjoyed a successful debut season in the Premier League last year, netting 18 times in 35 appearances to finish as the fourth highest scorer in the league. This fine goalscoring form saw him attract interest from a number of Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Southampton and West Ham.
Despite the vast amount of interest from other Premier League clubs, Newcastle currently lead the chase for the 25-year-old after tabling an offer that has ‘gazumped’ Southampton’s £13.75million bid.
QPR are resigned to losing their star striker following their relegation to the Championship and have slapped a £15million price-tag on him – even though he only has one year remaining on his current deal.
The Magpies still hold an interest in signing Andy Carroll, should they fail in their efforts to sign Charlie Austin, even though newly appointed West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has given the 26-year-old first-team assurances.
Another striker on McClaren’s short-list is Wolfsburg’s Bas Dost – who’s expected to command a fee in the region of £9million.
