'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.

Carabao Cup

Newcastle United

NEW

17 Dec 202515:15

Fulham

FUL

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund

BVB

19 Dec 202514:30

Borussia Moenchengladbach

BMG

“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.”

IN ONE PHOTO:

Getty Images

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.