Newcastle United are lining up a £10million bid for Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin, according to the Daily Express.
The 25-year-old has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Southampton, due to his goalscoring exploits for QPR this season – netting 18 times in 35 appearances. Despite their interest, the Premier League duo are likely to pursue higher priority targets, leaving the door open for Newcastle to swoop – who are hoping they can prize Austin away from Loftus Road with the lure of first-team football on Tyneside.
Newcastle don’t usually invest in homegrown talent, but Mike Ashley is looking to make a serious statement of intent this summer and his advisors are confident the English forward could propel the Magpies into the top half of the Premier League next season. Lee Charnley will be hoping to secure Austin for a cut-price following the Hoops’ relegation to the Championship.
Chris Ramsey has reiterated his intention is to keep Austin in West London, but has acknowledged their relegation could prove fatal to their chances of keeping him at Loftus Road.
“I would imagine anybody who has scored those goals and is going to the England camp would not be looking elsewhere other than to be playing in the Premier League,” he said.
“He’ll want to play higher [than the Championship] but we’ll make every effort to keep him because he’s somebody that we need. It’s very difficult to buy strikers of that pedigree to come straight into your team and starting scoring immediately. That’s what we’re going to need because we must hit the ground running.”
His fine form also caught the eye of Roy Hodgson, who included Austin in his 25 man squad to face the Republic of Ireland and Slovenia.
