'I humiliated Jude Bellingham and Co – now I could get big move thanks to Benjamin Sesko'

After tormenting the Three Lions at Wembley last year, Greece striker Vangelis Pavlidis could be on his way to the Premier League this summer. That's after Benjamin Sesko appears to have chosen Manchester United over Newcastle, leaving the Magpies scrambling for an alternative striker signing.

Benfica frontman Pavlidis, 26, embarrassed a full-strength England line-up comprising the likes of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka in the UEFA Nations League last October. He completed a match-deciding brace in the 94th minute as Greece beat England for the first time, moments after Bellingham appeared to have rescued a result for the hosts.

Almost one year on from that upset, The Sun has reported Newcastle are considering a move for Pavlidis, who is understood to have an £87million release clause, following Sesko's snub. And there's a very real chance Eddie Howe soon finds himself short of a star attacker depending on Alexander Isak's future at St James' Park.

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The Swede is currently training separately from the rest of the Newcastle squad after expressing a desire to explore his options elsewhere. He abstained from Newcastle's pre-season tour of Asia and then travelled to former club Real Sociedad for individual training.

Liverpool remain closely linked with a move for Isak despite already spending a combined £170m on Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz. The Reds recently had a bid for Isak worth a reported £110m turned down by the Magpies, but are said to be mulling a second offer.

However, there's a chance that deal could be revived after Liverpool agreed to sell Darwin Nunez to Saudi side Al-Hilal for an initial £46m. That frees up another spot in the Anfield attack after Luis Diaz joined Bayern Munich in a £65.5m deal.

Newcastle are said to have had scouts in attendance to watch Pavlidis in action as Benfica beat Nice 2-0 in a Champions League qualifier on Wednesday. The Greek hitman failed to find the back of the net, though it could work in Newcastle's favour that Benfica's latest striker signing, Franjo Ivanovic, did make his mark on the French Riviera.

Pavlidis has scored already this season, however, after netting the only goal in Benfica's Portuguese Super Cup victory over Sporting CP. The Thessaloniki-born star scored 30 goals and laid on 13 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for the Eagles last term.

Benfica paid around £15m to sign the forward from AZ Alkmaar after he topped the Eredivisie scoring charts in the 2023/24 campaign. However, they look certain to make that figure back multiple times over if they sell this summer, even if Newcastle manage to negotiate a fee for less than his release clause.

That being said, the chances of that happening may be slim considering Pavlidis has another four years left to run on his contract. The Telegraph reported Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson is still understood to lead Newcastle's list of striker targets in the event they sell Isak this summer.

Jackson looks certain to struggle for minutes this season after the Blues signed both Liam Delap and Joao Pedro in the summer. The Senegal international has the benefit of having already played in England's top flight.

That being said, many fans on Tyneside may prefer to see their side take more of a risk given Jackson has been far from prolific in the Premier League. Pavlidis was also understood to be a potential target for the Red Devils before they seemingly won the race for Sesko, with Newcastle now possibly eyeing his signature after being forced to pivot yet again.

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