Newcastle's Pursuit Of 18-Goal Striker Is Out Of Their Own Hands

Newcastle United's pursuit of their top transfer target Charlie Austin is fully dependent on whether or not Chelsea decide to make a move for the Queens Park Rangers forward. The 25-year-old wants to leave QPR following their relegation to the Championship and is intrigued by a potential move to St James' Park - but Austin will not make a decision on where he wants to ply his trade until he knows whether the Premier League champions are interested in his signature. According to The Sunderland Echo, Jose Mourinho is looking for another back-up striker and is considering a bid for Austin. As a result, the QPR forward wants to wait and see whether their interest is genuine before making a decision on his future.

The Magpies look set to do battle with the likes of Leicester City, AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion, Southampton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa for the forward this summer following QPR€™s relegation to the Championship - but the west London club want upwards of £15 million for the forward. However, that did not deter the Foxes from making an opening offer of £12 million that was rejected out of hand by QPR - and now a bidding war is likely to ensue, which will not be welcomed by the Magpies. The striker is itching for a move and whatculture.com/nufc understands that Austin would welcome a transfer to Newcastle if Chelsea's interest is not genuine - yet the Tyneside club could miss out due to their lack of urgency in making an official bid for the 25-year-old. Austin was the fourth-top scorer in the Premier League in 2014-15 having bagged an impressive 18 goals despite playing for a side who finished bottom of the table and he has just a year left on his Loftus Road deal. Newcastle need to add firepower to their strikeforce because they managed just 40 Premier League goals throughout the entirety of the previous campaign - and top-scorer Papiss Cisse€™s future at the club is in doubt, meaning they will have just Ayoze Perez, Adam Armstrong and the goal-shy Emmanuel Riviere as forwards next year. They have turned their attention to the highly-coveted Austin, who will want to remain in the Premier League - and that cannot be with QPR next season following their relegation. Austin has scored 107 goals in 199 league games for Swindon, Burnley and QPR since the beginning of 2010. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.