Newcastle and West Ham in Moussa Marega transfer battle as Porto ace weighs up move

The 28-year-old is available for £27million because of a release clause in his contract and the Mirror claim the Hammers are confident of beating their Premier League rivals to his signature.

Despite the hefty fee, both clubs are said to see him as a back-up option as they have already broken their respective transfer records on new strikers.

West Ham paid £36m to sign Sebastian Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt while Joelinton could end up costing Newcastle £40m after he arrived from Hoffenheim.

Marega would arrive in England with a decent reputation having scored 45 goals in 99 appearances for the Portuguese club.

Fifteen of those came last season and he also chipped in with seven assists.

However, some fans in England will remember him for an erratic display against Liverpool in the second leg of a Champions League last-16 tie last term where he missed a host of good chances as Porto were beaten 4-1.

That does not appear to have put off Premier League clubs, though, with West Ham and Newcastle both desperate for competition up front.

While Haller represents an exciting addition for the Hammers, they sold Marko Arnautovic and Lucas Perez this summer while Andy Carroll left after his contract expired.

Newcastle sold Ayoze Perez to Leicester and Joselu to Alaves, and Salomon Rondon has returned to West Brom following a loan spell last season.

Marega is capable of playing across a front three and could provide versatility for either side.

He was part of the Mali side that reached the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations and previous reports claimed he had no plans to return to Porto after the tournament in a bid to force a move.

With West Ham favourites to sign him, Newcastle are reported to be closing in on Hull’s Jarrod Bowen.

The 22-year-old forward is highly rated and has previously worked with Magpies boss Steve Bruce.

He scored 22 goals in the Championship last term and has also been linked with Southampton and Norwich.

Bruce is said to see him as the perfect replacement for Perez.