Newcastle United make move for Leeds United striker target Bamba Dieng

Newcastle United have entered the race for Marseille striker Bamba Dieng and want to beat Leeds United to his signature, according to 90min.

The Whites have been in the market for a new striker all summer after chasing Charles De Ketelaere, who opted to join AC Milan, and Arnaud Kalimuendo who is still at Paris Saint-Germain.

The 22-year-old is keen to leave Marseille for more regular football after being alienated by new manager Igor Tudor, and the Magpies have now edged to the front of the queue ahead of Leeds.

According to 90min the player's agents are locked in talks with the Ligue 1 club to seal a move to the Premier League this summer, with Everton another top flight club in England that are showing an interest.

Celtic and other clubs in Europe also hold an interest, but a move to the Premier League "is looking increasingly likely".

Options

The positive to this is that it will wake the Leeds board up and show them that they need to advance on targets and not just wait for things to develop.

It's quite clear that Dieng is an alternative to Kalimuendo, who has been identified as the priority striker target since the De Ketelaere deal fell by the wayside.

But while that deal is far from certain to go through, the Whites must be alert to all possibilities and are slowly watching their targets get snapped up by other clubs.

At some point they must make a decision to move on to other targets if they don't get an answer from PSG, and Dieng would be an ideal alternative for a more than fair price.

Now that price could rise though with Newcastle's addition into the equation, and Marsch may need to get his scouting glasses back on to find a new number nine.

In other Leeds news, the club could be braced for another blockbuster bid for one player