Dan Ashworth made phone call to discuss late move for 22-goal attacker - The Athletic

The Athletic have revealed a host of deals Newcastle United looked at over the final few weeks of the summer transfer window, seeing a couple of new names emerge.

They report that Dan Ashworth made a mid-August call to Blackburn to ask about the signing of Ben Brereton Diaz.

We ender up breaking our club transfer record on Swedish sensation Alexander Isak, but Chris Waugh reveals that the Chilean international was seriously considered over the final weeks of the window.

The 22-year-old Rovers star has enjoyed a superb rise to form over the past 18 months, bagging 22 goals for Blackburn last season and following that with four goals in his opening eight Championship games this term.

He received a host of offers from the likes of Everton and Fulham, but ended up remaining at Ewood Park - meaning he could end up leaving on a free transfer next summer if he fails to sign a new deal over the coming months.

The same report states that we discussed possible moves Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, Red Bull Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko, Porto’s Pepe, Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos, Aston Villa’s Carney Chukwuemeka and Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet during July, while Steve Nickson travelled to Brazil that month to watch Santos star Angelo Gabriel.