- Newcastle United interested in Abde Ezzalzouli
- Attacker likened to Lionel Messi
- Moroccan doesn’t want to leave La Liga
Newcastle United are likely to be in the market for an attacker or two in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Earlier this month, we reported that Abde Ezzalzouli is one of the candidates being monitored by Eddie Howe and the club’s hierarchy to bolster their ranks up front.
And now, Sport have some additional information on the speculation surrounding the Moroccan’s future as he continues to earn rave reviews for his performances in Spain.
Abde Ezzalzouli doesn’t want to leave Spain
Anthony Gordon has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich and hasn’t featured in Newcastle United’s last two games.
In recent weeks, Howe has suggested that the England international already has one foot out of the door at St James’ Park, which is why he hasn’t played for the club.
Newcastle’s interest in Ezzalzouli is well-documented. However, the aforementioned report claims that the Real Betis forward, who is valued at around £35m, doesn’t want to leave La Liga as things stand.
Aston Villa are also believed to be interested and Unai Emery’s side will be able to offer him UEFA Champions League football next season, which immediately gives them the upper hand.
The report goes on to mention that Ezzalzouli is ‘racking up’ offers from Premier League clubs, with Newcastle United and Aston Villa ‘very attentive’ to his situation despite his unwillingness to leave Spain.
The two teams face a massive battle to convince him to move to England, making this deal a complicated one at this stage of the summer.
Who is Newcastle United target Abde Ezzalzouli?
After bursting onto the scene at Hercules, Ezzalzouli was snapped up by Barcelona in 2021.
He played a bit-part role at Camp Nou and got to rub shoulders with Lionel Messi for a brief period before the Argentine great moved to Paris Saint-Germain.
That didn’t stop the Spanish media from drawing comparisons between the two players.
In fact, Ezzalzouli was described as the Moroccan Lionel Messi due to the pair sharing similar traits, with Moroccan newspaper Hespress speaking about those comparisons in detail.
The 23-year-old is tied down at Real Betis until 2029 and has continued to develop admirably since joining the club in 2023.
This season, he has racked up 14 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Betis, which is a fantastic record for a young winger.
Newcastle are crying out for more quality and end product in attack and are also set to lose Gordon, who, despite blowing hot and cold this season, has racked up 19 goal contributions across all competitions.
The Magpies are clearly keeping tabs on Ezzalzouli, but at this point, it looks like they face an uphill battle to fend off interest from other clubs while also convincing him to swap Spain for England.
