Newcastle United's attacking department is down to the bare bones right now amidst an injury crisis that has plagued the squad. Star strikers Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak were both ruled out with injury issues, leaving Eddie Howe without a centre-forward in the build-up to the international break.
During Newcastle's disappointing 2-0 defeat away at Bournemouth, Howe deployed Anthony Gordon through the middle but the results were disastrous as the £45m winger had merely one attempt on goal, registering an xG of 0.07 on the night.
Situations like this serve as a reminder to clubs to always have as much depth in each position as possible. Newcastle have had some excellent centre-forwards over the past decade, including Ivan Toney and Adam Armstrong, who never had a fair crack of the whip at St. James' Park but are players that Howe would be delighted to have in the squad right now.
Nevertheless, there is one more striker that many forgot even played for the Mags who has been ripping it up this season.
Luuk de Jong's stats at Newcastle
In January 2014, Newcastle United announced the signing of Luuk de Jong on loan until the end of the campaign as Alan Pardew sought to add further depth to his forward department. The Dutchman had been with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga but limited game-time was the catalyst behind a temporary move to the North East of England.
Unfortunately, the striker endured a turgid time under Pardew and struggled to hit any kind of form. De Jong made his debut for the Magpies in the Tyne-Wear Derby against bitter rivals Sunderland. However, after the 3-0 home defeat, De Jong admitted his first display for the club was "terrible".
Overall, the Dutch striker failed to score a single goal for Newcastle during his half-season at the Geordie club in 12 appearances in the Premier League. De Jong's only goal contribution came in the form of an assist in a 2-1 loss at home to Swansea City and the number '9' returned to his parent club empty-handed at the end of the 2013/14 campaign.
De Jong's current form in 2023
After his loan at St. James' Park expired, De Jong went on to play twice for PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla, and even Barcelona when Ronald Koeman took charge of the Catalan club.
The most prolific de Jong has ever been is with PSV, though. Across two different spells with the Eredivisie giants, the experienced striker has scored 147 goals and recorded 75 assists in 264 games in all competitions.
De Jong bagged 14 goals in the Dutch top flight last season under Ruud van Nistelrooy but is well on his way to beating this tally in the current campaign and has already hit 17 in 21 appearances since Peter Bosz took charge, with the team running away with the Eredivisie title after picking up 12 wins from 12.
As it happens, the 33-year-old is currently outscoring both of Newcastle United's star strikers Wilson and Isak (seven goals each this season) and has been outperforming the prolific pair in a number of key attacking metrics.
Goals
0.84
0.96
0.84
Expected Goals
0.8
0.9
0.73
Shots
3.85
3.01
2.65
Shots On Target
1.26
1.78
1.57
Goals Per Shot
0.15
0.23
0.27
Aerial Duels Won %
53.7%
42.1%
27.3%
Stats via FBref
Newcastle United don't need a new striker to replace Wilson and Isak in the long term but De Jong could have been an excellent squad player for the Magpies had his fortunes in front of goal been different ten years ago.
