'He's a player we looked at' - Howe admits Newcastle interest in Dortmund match winner

James Shearman

• Updated: 26 Oct 2023 18:35 BST
• 3 min read

Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle were interested in signing Borussia Dortmund match winner Felix Nmecha.

Nmecha scored the only goal in Dortmund's 1-0 victory over Newcastle in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.

The German, who was at Wolfsburg last season, had been watched by the Magpies' scouts and even made it onto their midfield shortlist.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals

However, Howe's side opted to sign Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for a club record £60 million fee.

"[Nmecha] is a player that we looked at and really liked," Howe told reporters.

"But, yeah, he’s obviously a Dortmund player now. Was it a case of us getting someone else instead? It’s never as simple as that."

Nmecha started slowly at Dortmund, but he is starting to show signs of improvement under Edin Terzic.

"Felix is a brilliant player," said the Croatian head coach. "We know about his potential and his talent, and we knew he could improve our game. He had a fantastic game, and he finally managed to score."

Sandro Tonali ban

The midfielder that Newcastle chose to sign in the summer, Sandro Tonali, has been suspended from all football for the next 10 months for breaching betting rules.

The Italy international will, therefore, be unable to feature until a few weeks into the 2024-25 season.

It had been feared that Tonali could face an 18-month penalty, which would effectively have caused him to miss the vast majority of the next campaign.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed that the midfielder had breached the rule which prohibits players from betting on FIGC, Uefa and Fifa events.

The 23-year-old, who will be aided in his recovery from a gambling addiction, has also been fined 20,000 euros.