An update has emerged on Real Madrid attacker Mariano Diaz and it involves Newcastle United.

What’s the talk?

According to Jeunes Footeux, via TeamTalk, Real Madrid have offered Newcastle the chance to sign Mariano Diaz this summer.

The Magpies are said to be weighing up a swoop for the attacker, who has fallen out of favour at the Spanish club and as such, is now seeking a new club.

Imagine him and Wilson

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce must seal a deal for the forward this summer and take up the opportunity Real are giving them.

Goals were hard to come by in the Premier League last season and bringing in extra firepower could help to alleviate that particular issue.

Out of the players currently in the squad, Callum Wilson is the only one who managed more than four goals in the league. The ex-Bournemouth star was terrific as he plundered 12, with Joelinton’s four the next-highest after loanee Joe Willock’s eight, but the Arsenal man remains at The Emirates, for now at least.

Bruce lined up with a 4-4-2 on occasions last term with Joelinton and Wilson as a front two. However, four goals in 31 appearances (23 starts) is not an impressive return from the former.

This is why Mariano could come in and take his place in the side. Lyon assistant boss Gerald Baticle once labelled him as a real goalscorer, claiming that his first intention is always to shoot.

He told EuroSport, via GOAL:

“He’s a real goalscorer.”

“When others might want to make a pass, his first idea is to find an angle to shoot towards goal. All his play is in the centre towards goal.

“Of course, with his first touch, he has to raise his head more often to take in more information and make better choices. But in individual raids, he’s good because he’s capable of piercing the lines.”

His game time has been extremely limited at Real Madrid in recent seasons, but his goal-to-start ratio is excellent with six goals in nine starts across La Liga and the Champions League.

In his last season of playing regular football, he scored 18 goals in 30 Ligue 1 starts for Lyon, averaging a terrific WhoScored rating of 7.15.

This suggests that he could have the potential to arrive at St. James’ Park and score goals in the Premier League, as he has shown he can do it in Ligue 1 – another top league in Europe. It is difficult to say he is proven in La Liga and the Champions League, as the evidence is sparse, but the signs are there that he could have scored more goals if he had been given more chances from the start.

Therefore, bringing in Diaz could complete Newcastle’s attack and hand Wilson a competent partner at the top end of the pitch.

The Real Madrid man will just need to show that he can rediscover his Lyon form because his statistics for the French side dwarf anything Joelinton has been able to do in England.

AND in other news, Telegraph drop update on “terrific” £22m gem, that will leave NUFC fans on cloud nine…