Newcastle United have seriously struggled in the final third this season. Eddie Howe‘s side have scored just 13 goals in 11 Premier League games this season, which is the joint-fifth lowest total in the division and the fewest of any team in the top half.
Alexander Isak, who last season netted 21 times in the top flight, has just four so far this season, while wingers Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon have managed just four and two goals respectively.
Addressing his team’s poor goal return following their defeat to Brighton last month, Howe said: “We’re going through a phase where we’re not scoring, but the positive is we’re creating chances.”
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, it’s back to hard work on the training pitch,” he added.
While things have picked up slightly in recent weeks, with the Magpies having scored six in their last three games in all competitions, including three in a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest, Newcastle will no doubt be looking to bring him in some offensive reinforcements in both January and next summer.
Ibrahim Maza wanted at Newcastle
One attacking talent Newcastle and PIF are reportedly eyeing for a move next year is Hertha BSC’s Ibrahim Maza. According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, the Magpies are one of a number of Premier League clubs “interested” in the 18-year-old attacking midfielder, alongside Brentford, Fulham, Leicester City, and West Ham.
Plettenberg claims that if Hertha, who were relegated to Germany’s second division in 2023, fail to achieve a return to the Bundesliga this term, “a departure at the end of the season seems likely.” Maza, who Plettenberg described as “one of the rising stars of the 2. Bundesliga,” is valued somewhere between £8 and £16.7 million.
Hertha are currently 11th in the 2. Bundesliga, having won five, lost five, and drawn two of their 12 games so far. Maza has been a ray of hope for Cristian Fiel’s side, however, having scored four goals and provided two assists in all competitions.
Who is Ibrahim Maza?
Maza has spent his entire professional career with Hertha, having initially joined the Old Lady as a boy in 2018. He made his first-team debut for the club in a defeat to Bayern Munich in April 2023 and has since been a regular fixture in Fiel’s first-team squad.
Born in Germany, he previously represented a number of the country’s youth teams, but now plays for Algeria at senior level, for whom he is eligible through his father. Maza received his first call-up last month for the Fennec Foxes last month and made his debut in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo.
Speaking about Maza after his call-up, Algeria boss Vladimir Petkovic said of the teenager: “He’s a talented and technically gifted player with a high footballing IQ, despite his youth”.
“His early-season statistics speak volumes about his potential and ability to influence the game with deadly runs and build-up play,” he added.
