Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Kenny Jackett has refused to rule out the possibility of Newcastle target Benik Afobe moving away from Molineux in the January transfer window.
The Chronicle claim that Newcastle have been tracking the former Arsenal youngster for the past 18 months and, with Steve McClaren desperate to add firepower to his Magpies’ squad, an official approach during the upcoming window could be in the offing.
Since leaving Arsenal, Afobe has made quite the name for himself in the lower leagues. The robust 22-year-old bagged an impressive 32 goals for MK Dons and Wolves over the course of last season, establishing himself as one of the Championship’s hottest properties.
Afobe – who is reportedly rated at £15million – has netted seven times during the current campaign and, although he has registered just once in his last eight league appearances, a number of top flight clubs are beginning to circle for the former England u21 international’s signature.
Speaking to Wolves’ official website, Jackett addressed fresh media speculation surrounding his star striker’s future:
“Benik is a calm man, he’s articulate and for him he understands as much anyone it’s about the team.
“It’ll be interesting (in January), it was a tough period in pre-season where there was a lot of speculation about him and conversations.
“But if there is speculation again it’ll mean things are going right and he’s scoring and playing well.
“We need to get him to that stage. He’s got one goal in his last eight and has the ability to score a lot of goals in the Championship.
In terms of how we handle it, I can only really wait and see what the circumstances are at the time.
