The £35m blockbuster signing ready to help Newcastle United forget all about Anthony Gordon
Newcastle are looking to sign a left winger to replace Anthony Gordon
Having sold left winger Anthony Gordon to Barcelona in a deal worth almost £70m, Newcastle find themselves with a quandary – finding a suitable replacement at a reasonable fee, so that they can reinvest the money from the Gordon sale into other parts of the squad. Working out where who they might target is currently quite challenging.
A host of players have been named as potential targets. Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré is an option, but is likely to prove expensive. Köln youngster Saïd El Mala has the potential but would just as pricy and as failed negotiations with Brentford demonstrated, arranging a deal may not be straightforward – the Bees’ agreement to sign the German international fell apart when his mother, who doubles as his agent, demanded that Brentford sign his brother as well.
Another young winger on the shortlist could be both slightly cheaper and easier to acquire: Rising Osasuna star Víctor Muñoz. But would the Spaniard be a worthy replacement for Gordon, and how likely is that Newcastle sign him this summer?
Newcastle keen on Victor Muñoz – reports
According to recent reporting from The Athletic, the 22-year-old Muñoz is among the wingers being monitored by Newcastle, alongside Touré and El Mala – and the twice-capped Spain international, who made his country’s squad for the World Cup despite only making his debut in March.
Muñoz has a release clause in his Osasuna contract which makes him available for €40m (£36m), likely the bare minimum that would be required to sign either El Mala or Touré. That would, at least, make the first part of negotiations straightforward, although it’s highly unlikely that they would be able to haggle the fee down.
That’s because there is expected to be extensive competition for Muñoz’s signature, with Chelsea and Aston Villa among the sides believed to be monitoring the youngster. Newcastle have already “held conversations” over a deal, according to The Athletic, but they may not be alone in their interest.
Muñoz’s 2025/26 breakthrough season, during which he scored seven goals and provided five assists in 36 appearances for Osasuna following his move from Real Madrid, not only earned him a place in the national side but also generated a number of admirers. Newcastle may face an uphill struggle to sign him if sides who can offer higher wages of immediate Champions League football enter the equation.
Should Muñoz prove to be unobtainable, then alternatives like El Mala and Touré could be preferred, while The Athletic also claim that 21-year-old Israel international Anan Khalaili is another player on Newcastle’s shortlist, although the right-footed winger has played down the right flank for most of his career to date. Lille’s Matías Fernández-Pardo is another name that’s cropped up elsewhere in the gossip columns.
With several options under consideration, it’s far from clear that Newcastle will prioritise a bid for Muñoz even if they do have a clear path to his signature – but the Spaniard has made arguably the strongest case to be worthy of a crucial investment.
Why Newcastle and other want to sign Muñoz this summer
After a peripatetic youth career with saw him spend time in the academy systems of both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Muñoz eventually forced his way towards the fringes of the first team at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2025, making four appearances for Real before half of his economic rights were sold to Osasuna for a fee rising to €6m (£5.1m) last summer.
It proved to be the ideal move for the winger. Although his side struggled, avoiding relegation by goal difference alone, Muñoz shone, scoring six goals in La Liga and showing off both impressive creative quality and an aggressively direct approach to attacking opposing defenders.
A right-footed player who operated on both wings across the season, Muñoz resembles Gordon in a number of regards – he’s fast, willing to take men on one-on-one, and constantly looks for routes into the opposing box.
His success rate with his dribbles wasn’t spectacular – a below average 42% - but that owes a lot to the sheer volume of attempts. Muñoz is constantly looking for ways to break defensive lines by himself, and those efforts pay off frequently enough to make up for the failures.
His raw speed helps considerably. Muñoz was supposedly the fastest player in Real Madrid’s squad before he moved – a squad which includes Kylian Mbappé – and can burn most full-back for sheer pace given a pass over the top to latch on to. And while his return of seven goals in all competitions may not be spectacular, that reflects Osasuna’s struggles more than it does Muñoz’s finishing. He slightly overshot his xG across the course of the season.
In a tactical regard, he would likely slot straight into Gordon’s role while also being able to play on the right when circumstances required – and while he has room to develop and some rough edges to sand off, especially with regards to his decision making and the precision of his crossing, it’s not difficult to imagine him reaching Gordon’s best level in the near future. He would certainly be an immediate starter.
The fact that Real Madrid retain a portion of his economic rights could complicate matters if they want to re-sign him. Real also have a buy-back clause which activates in 2028, giving them further leverage – and some stories in the Spanish media have hinted at the possibility that they would look to bring the impressive Muñoz back to the Bernabeu. That suggestion remains unproven, however, and they may be content to cash in on half of his release clause if Newcastle or another side enters the bidding.
Muñoz looks likely to be a fine investment for the future with enough immediate quality to be a starter straight away in the Premier League – there is, after all, a reason that he’s in the Spain squad, even if he isn’t expected to play a major role this summer. Whether Newcastle are the beneficiaries remains to be seen.