Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is likely to be a player of interest to Newcastle United if the club decide to send him on loan this season.

The Telegraph report that Newcastle United are keeping a close eye on both Rhian Brewster and Eddie Nketiah, in case Liverpool or Arsenal decide to let their young strikers go out on loan.

Despite the signing of Callum Wilson from AFC Bournemouth, it seems Newcastle are still on the market for a striker on loan. Both Brewster and Nketiah are in strong form at the moment, so it’s no surprise they make the shortlist.

Brewster missed a penalty in the Community Shield against Arsenal, but he scored three goals in his other two pre-season appearances for Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Nketiah bagged a hat-trick for the England u21s on Friday. He also featured in that Community Shield match on the winning side. The 21-year-old played a role in some nice moves that day, but just lacked a goal to top it off.

From an Arsenal point of view, it’s hard to see much value in loaning Nketiah. With Gabriel Martinelli injured, Tyreece John-Jules seemingly heading out on loan, Folarin Balogun leaving and Sam Greenwood and Alfie Matthews already gone, the backup centre-forward options are basically non-existent.

If Nketiah left, Arsenal would have Alexandre Lacazette and that’s it. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can play centrally, of course, but he’s already in the team on the left. So using him as backup would mean playing him in every single game in every competition.

There’s obviously some value in the loan if Nketiah starts regularly and develops his game. But it’s not clear he’d start any more often at Newcastle than Arsenal right now.