Newcastle eye major transfer coup with £25m loan-to-buy bid for Spain striker Paco Alcacer

NEWCASTLE boss Steve Bruce is bidding to pull off a coup by beating Valencia in the race to sign Spanish striker Paco Alcacer.

Bruce is in talks with German club Borussia Dortmund for the hitman who can move on loan and wants to play to boost his chances of making the national side at the Euro 2020 finals.

The Toon are hopeful they can persuade him to join with the offer of plenty of game time in the Premier League.

And they can sweeten the deal with the prospect of a possible permanent transfer at £25million in the summer. Alcacer, 26, who was with Barcelona before joining Dortmund, is keen for a fresh start after becoming disillusioned with the Bundesliga.

He was an unused sub as the German club won on Friday and the arrival of Norway star Erling Haaland has pushed him closer to the exit door.

He is also wanted back home by his old club Valencia, where he spent five years.

But they may have to sell former Bolton loan striker Rodrigo Moreno to free up the cash for a move.

Bruce wants a new striker as his attack has been short of goals. The Toon chief has already used the foreign loan market well to bring in Valentino Lazaro and Nabil Bentaleb.

Both of those deals came with six-figure fees and also include the option to buy — Bentaleb for an extra £9m and Lazaro a further £20m.

Alcacer would be a dream deal for Newcastle as their other targets are overpriced and currently out of reach.

AC Milan’s Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek is not keen on a move to Tyneside even though Newcastle would go close to the £35m valuation.

And Hull want £20m for Jarrod Bowen and will not take much less as Leeds are also in the hunt for the 23-year-old.

Bruce has considered a move for Brighton veteran Glenn Murray but the 36-year-old is out of contract this summer and wants an 18-month deal.