Newcastle striker offers £15 million and has been a free agent since July 2022
Former Newcastle United and Premier League target Nicolai Jorgensen is still a free agent and has been without a club for over a year, much to the disappointment of his former Feyenoord coach Jaap Stam.
It spoke volumes about how highly regarded Nicolai Jorgensen was at St James’ Park that Mike Ashley – the club’s despised former owner – was even willing to break a long-standing transfer record to bring him to Tyneside.
Newcastle United offered the then Feyenoord striker £15 million in 2018 and were even willing to pay more than the fee they paid Real Madrid for Michael Owen 13 years earlier (The guard).
In hindsight, missing out on Jorgensen feels like a blessing in disguise these days. The now 32-year-old striker has not played professional football since being released by FC Copenhagen in June 2022. His former Eredivisie coach Jaap Stam suffered a series of injuries that ruined his reputation and derailed his career.
Newcastle United could have had Nicolai Jorgensen
“Hopefully he is injury-free. When I worked with him he wasn’t always injury free, but he has great quality. That’s why I’m surprised that a player like him can’t find a club,” says Stam Tipsbladet.
“I don’t know if it’s about his salary. Maybe he’s asking for too much money, I don’t know.”
Jorgensen led Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in almost 20 years, catching the attention of Newcastle United. However, the outstanding Danish international was unable to come close to the 25/2016/17 tally in the years that followed, only scoring 14 goals between 2019 and his release from Copenhagen in 2022.
Without a club for 16 months
“If he is still fit and ready to play at a certain level, then there should be many clubs who are willing to take him into their team and give him the opportunity to play,” argues Stam. “Because I think he’s an excellent person to work with and he also has a lot of quality.
“He can make the difference for many clubs.”
Maybe so, but the Newcastle ship has long been looking for a striker who, if things had turned out differently, could have become the most expensive player of the season Magpies Story.
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