Aberdeen v Hibernian Scottish Premiership 06-11-2020. Aberdeen forward Sam Cosgrove 16 warming up during the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Hibernian at Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland on 6 November 2020. Aberdeen Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeenshire Scotland Editorial use only DataCo restrictions apply See www.football-dataco.com PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK , Copyright: xStephenxDobsonx PSI-11012-0003
According to The Scottish Sun (h/t Daily Record), Newcastle have been surprisingly linked with a move for Sam Cosgrove. The Magpies already signed a striker this season in the form of Callum Wilson but they have struggled to find goals from others. It looks like the club have narrowed down on the Aberdeen man to get out of this crisis.
Cosgrove, who moved north of the border to Aberdeen from Carlisle United for a paltry £25,000 last year in January, has proven to be a massive bargain for the Scottish Premiership side.
The Beverley-born striker struggled to make a big impact at his boyhood club Wigan Athletic and spent time on loan at several non-league outfits, including Barrow and North Ferriby United, over the course of his ill-fated spell in England. However, he has progressed by leaps and bounds since his move to Aberdeen in January 2018.
Having bagged as many as 21 goals in 44 appearances for the Dons in all competitions in the previous campaign, Cosgrove looks well on course to registering an even better tally this time around. The 24-year-old Aberdeen star has already racked up 45 goals in 94 outings so far, contributing to 10 assists.
While Newcastle may look like they have a plethora of strikers at their disposal, only one of them is actually firing on all cylinders. Callum Wilson has scored 7 in 10 games while Joelinton, Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle have managed a combined 3 in 21. Even the usually lively Allan Saint-Maximin has been relatively quiet this season. All that has contributed to Newcastle’s struggles this season.
They are rightly targeting Sam Cosgrove to ease this issue. Indeed, those numbers make for some eye-watering readings on paper and Newcastle’s interest in Sam Cosgrove does look justified for a number of reasons, starting from their position in the league to the failures of the striking options at the club.
To that end, securing a deal for an in-form striker like Sam Cosgrove in January would go a long way towards helping the Magpies improve on a dismal scoring record.
Notwithstanding the fact that Cosgrove failed to cut the mustard in English football earlier in his career, he has looked like a completely different player over the past 2 years since his move to Aberdeen. At 24, Newcastle shouldn’t hesitate to offer him a second chance to prove his worth.
