Newcastle could sign Barcelona winger this summer

Newcastle United have exceeded expectations so far this season with an outstanding campaign and Eddie Howe will surely be thrilled with the consistency shown by his squad so far.

The Magpies are just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth with a great chance of still qualifying for Champions League football at the end of their Premier League campaign if they can continue to pick up crucial points and take advantage of their two games in hand over the north London club.

Indeed, the St James' Park hierarchy will be extremely pleased with the rapid progression the squad has made in the first full season since the Saudi takeover, but there is still plenty of work to be done to gain the dominance and trophies desperately desired on Tyneside.

The recruitment over the last 12 months has already been extraordinary with Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Kieran Trippier all becoming hugely important players in Newcastle's rise up the Premier League table and recent achievement of reaching the first domestic cup final at Wembley since 1999.

However, if the club does earn Champions League football ahead of next season it will be important for the club to acquire the services of players who have lots of European experience and the quality needed to compete with the best of the best.

One player who has been linked with a move to the North East this summer is Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele and the Frenchman could be exactly the European pedigree that Newcastle will be looking for.

Should Newcastle sign Dembele?

There is no doubt that many players have improved under the management of Howe with none more so than winger Miguel Almiron who this season has been a huge attacking force for the Magpies.

The Paraguayan star has scored 11 goals and registered three assists over his 32 appearances in all competitions this season but at 29 years old he is unlikely to be considered part of the long-term future of the forward line at St James' Park.

As a result, the signing of Dembele could be the perfect opportunity to bring in a younger and fresh perspective on the right flank and even improve the output in front of goal.

The £203k-per-week World Cup winner – hailed "special" by his manager Xavi – has tallied up 40 goals and 41 assists over 173 appearances for the La Liga giants with a goal contribution every 131 minutes, which is an impressive output that would be incredibly valuable to Howe next season.

Not only that, Dembele has outperformed Almiron in several areas this season in league football including shots on target rate (35.9% v 34%), assists (5 v 1), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.99 v 3), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.82 v 0.46) and crosses completed (71 v 20).

That's no mean feat when you consider that the latter has been one of the most impressive forward players in the Premier League this term.

Unlike his North East-based positional peer, the France international also boasts a wealth of experience playing Champions League football with 40 appearances, ten goals and 11 assists in the prestigious European competition.

With that being said, the signing of Dembele would be a huge statement of Newcastle's ambition and intent, with the Frenchman a player who could potentially set the continental stage alight should Howe's men get there.