Newcastle United are believed to be interested in signing Samuel Chukwueze from Villareal, according to a report from Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo.

The highly-regarded Nigerian winger has caught the eye on several occasions this season. So far, he has scored six goals alongside five assists in the current campaign.

Estadio Deportivo also mentioned that several other clubs in the Premier League have been keeping close tabs on the 23-year-old – however, they remain unnamed as of yet.

Villareal’s manager, Quique Setién, had this to say: “In the last four or six weeks he has gone through a moment of inspiration in which he is not wrong, he hits the pass… this cannot be achieved many times throughout a football career.

“Samu is at the moment and he’s a kid who wants to improve. Many days when training ends we stay with him to work on finishing like the last goal.

“His desire to learn and his Their effort is having an extraordinary reward. The fact of playing the way we play helps them a lot because we manage to get the ball to them a lot”.

Samuel Chukwueze career summary

Born in Nigeria, Chukwueze spent time in several youth academies in his native country, including Future Hope, New Generation Academy and Diamond Football Academy.

In 2017, he was headhunted by Villareal – he has remained with El Submarino Amarillo ever since. In that time, he has scored 21 goals for the club across 151 senior appearances. In 2021, he was part of Unai Emery’s Villareal team that defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final – so far, this is the only trophy he has won over the course of his young career.

He has also been capped on several occasions for Nigeria. In total, Chukwueze has scored four international goals for the Super Eagles across 27 appearances.