'He's a player we looked at' - Newcastle boss Eddie Howe confirms Magpies tried to sign Felix Nmecha before he scored winner for Dortmund at St James' Park

• Dortmund beat Newcastle 1-0
• Nmecha scored the only goal of the match
• Newcastle wanted forward

WHAT HAPPENED? The German has been watched by Newcastle scouts for a long time and even made it onto the list of potential midfield targets that they drew up in the summer. However, they finally settled on Sandro Tonali and paid a club-record £60m ($72.73m) to AC Milan to land the player, who has since received a 10-month ban for illegal betting activities.

Incidentally, it was Nmecha who turned out to be the difference-maker when Newcastle and Dortmund met in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, with a clinical finish right before half-time.

WHAT THEY SAID: "He’s (Nmecha) a player that we looked at and really liked,” confirmed Howe to 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.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Dortmund boss Edin Terzic also hailed Nmecha's influence as the club is still trying to plug the gaps in midfield following Jude Bellingham's departure to Real Madrid.

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“Felix is a brilliant player,” said Terzic.

“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. He had many opportunities to do that in the first games of the season. It was a slightly different role for him because he played more attacking. He had a bit of a rocky start in Dortmund, but now he is in good form and good shape.”

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WHAT NEXT? Newcastle will return to action against Wolves on Saturday in a Premier League encounter whereas, Nmencha will make to trip to Eintracht Frankfurt to take on The Eagles in the Bundesliga on the same day.