Newcastle United are almost back in action.

It is less than a fortnight until the Magpies commence their pre-season schedule, making the 139-mile journey north to face Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, with 10,000 Geordies forecast to be travelling to Glasgow to support them at Parkhead.

After that, Eddie Howe's team will travel to Asia for games against Arsenal in Kallang, the K League All-Stars in Suwon and then Tottenham in Seoul, before Espanyol and Atlético Madrid will visit St James' Park for a weekend double-header in early August.

So, before their visit to Scotland, will the Toon Army have any new signings to cast their eye over?

Newcastle looking to bolster their squad

Newcastle are yet to make a signing this summer, but that could change in the coming days.

James Trafford is set to arrive from Burnley for £30m, thereby becoming the most-expensive English goalkeeper of all time.

Meantime, the Magpies have also stepped up their interest in Atalanta centre-back Giorgio Scalvini, who is described as Howe's top target, valued at £30m by la Dea.

A deal that could be finalised before either of those is, as reported by Dominic Scurr of the Shields Gazette, Anthony Elanga's proposed £55m move from Nottingham Forest.

They state that the Magpies had a £45m bid rejected by Forest, told he was not for sale, but have since offered £10m more, which they describe as a 'breakthrough' in negotiations.

Thus, 'confidence' is growing that a deal will go through, making Elanga Newcastle's second-most expensive signing of all time, behind only his compatriot Alexander Isak.

Claims followed from Craig Hope corroborating that report, with the journalist revealing on Sunday evening that an agreement is "close."

As the table outlines, Joelinton is the only player Newcastle had ever signed for in excess of £30m prior to the PIF takeover and, for the longest time, Michael Owen's ill-fated £16.8m from Real Madrid in 2005 remained their transfer record.

So, unlike Owen, why will Elanga be a success on Tyneside?

How Anthony Elanga improves Newcastle

Elanga's performances for Forest last season earned widespread praise, with Statman Dave describing him as "electric", while David Astill of Total Football Analysis outlined how the Sweden international has become masterful at utilising his pace, often dropping deep before bursting in behind.

Meantime, Ali Tweedale of Opta's the Analyst is impressed by his two-footedness, labelling him 'lightning-quick', while documenting how he's been able to find the end-product to match, considering only two players registered more assists than he did in the Premier League last season.

Elanga's potential transfer to Newcastle is reminiscent of his namesake Anthony Gordon's move from Everton in January 2023, arriving from a Premier League rival for big money.

So, let's assess how Elanga at Forest compares to Gordon at Everton.

As the table outlines, Elanga right now is vastly more experienced than Gordon was when he made the move to Newcastle, not to mention the Swede's 39 Premier League appearances for Manchester United before joining Forest too.

Elanga has registered more goals and assists, as well as accumulated more shots and chances created, on top of completing a higher percentage of his take-ons. That said, the shared ability to take on a player and create something inside the area certainly makes them alike.

Across the last two seasons, Gordon scored 20 goals and registered 23 assists while the Toon's latest target netted 11 and supplied 20 assists, certainly rubber-stamping their creative prowess.

Gordon has been largely outstanding since moving to St James' Park and all available evidence suggests Elanga could have a similarly big impact, should he swap Nottingham for Newcastle.