Published Aug 31, 2026, 7:15 PM GMT+1

The 21-year-old attacker can play across the frontline, with his searing speed lending to devastating wing play and his natural eye for goal allowing him to deputise as a No. 9 when called upon.

With Nick Woltemade seemingly closing in on a late-window transfer to Juventus in Serie A, this could be a game-changer of a signing for a Magpies outfit starting to build themselves back up after so many setbacks.

How Newcastle are recovering from a summer of setbacks

Make no mistake, selling Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes after falling by the wayside and finishing 12th in the Premier League last season was always going to leave Newcastle up against it this summer, but so many fumbles in the transfer market saw Eddie Howe call time on his Tyneside tenure at the end of July.

Matthias Jaissle has a long road still to walk, but he has succeeded in clearing away the closest rainclouds hanging over St. James' Park, Newcastle well worth their money in a draw against Liverpool before dispatching Tottenham in the capital.

Nico Gonzalez looks a real win in midfield, looking like he has the dynamism and physicality to offset the loss of Tonali to Spurs. The Italian was poor against his old club on Saturday afternoon. Sean Steur and Aladji Bamba are young, but both rising stars could become midfield mainstays down the line.

In attack, Bazoumana Toure enjoyed a goalscoring start to life in England, bagging as Newcastle beat West Bromwich Albion to advance to the third round of the Carabao Cup.

However, the £43m summer signing from Hoffenheim has only played one minute of Premier League action so far, and whether he is ready to replace Gordon as a talismanic attacking force remains to be seen.

Fernandez-Pardo will go a way toward fixing that, but he might be more of a Woltemade replacement, stepping in as a foil for Yoane Wissa at No. 9.

But the Toon do have their sights set on another attacker in the same class as Gordon.

Newcastle in last-minute talks to sign Gordon-esque star

It does feel like Newcastle need to make one or two further signings before the transfer window slams shut. Whether they will achieve that remains to be seen, but technical director Ross Wilson does have his sights set on another attacking midfielder with plenty of excitement behind them.

As per TEAMtalk, Newcastle have held talks with Stuttgart over a move to sign Bilal El Khannouss, who could be available for around £51m as the transfer window reaches the eleventh hour.

Khannouss is a natural technician, endowed with pace and ball-playing skill, but also bringing an unwavering work-rate in and out of possession that has seen him hailed for his "elite" technicality by analyst Ben Mattinson.

He might not be as direct as someone like Gordon, but El Khannouss, 22 years old and formerly of Leicester City, has the same kind of singular attacking skillset that could see him replace the £69m Barcelona signing.

Versatile, the Morocco international was fielded out on the left and the right by Stuttgart in the Bundesliga last season, scoring four goals and supplying five assists across only 19 starts. He completed 56% of his dribbles and got stuck in when duelling, boasting a combativeness that, again, propped up Gordon as one of the Premier League's most prominent wingers.

Hailed as a "maestro" of an attacking midfielder by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the rising star would be the icing on the cake for a Newcastle side who are emerging from the storm. But they still need a bit more quality, and while someone like Fernandez-Pardo has a cutting edge in front of goal, El Khannouss's wide-ranging skillset could see him become Jaissle's talisman, and in that, he would emulate Gordon under Howe's wing.

With Joe Willock mooted for a move by the end of the transfer window, Newcastle could sign quite the upgrade in El Khannouss, a multi-faceted attacking midfielder who has the ability to become a bona fide sensation at St. James' Park, bringing a talismanic ability that could match Gordon when the Three Lions winger plied his trade for the Toon.