Newcastle keeping tabs on Hertha Berlin's Davie Selke as Rafael Benitez hunts new striker

Newcastle United are reportedly keeping tabs on highly-rated Hertha Berlin forward Davie Selke as Rafael Benitez seeks to bolster his strikeforce on Tyneside and potentially pave the way for Aleksandar Mitrovic's January exit.

According to German publication Bild, representatives from both Newcastle and fellow Premier League relegation battlers Stoke City were present in the stands at the Olympiastadion last Friday (19 January) evening to watch the 23-year-old in action in the Bundesliga clash draw with Borussia Dortmund.

Selke scored his ninth goal in 16 appearances that night, finishing off Valentino Lazaro's cross just 42 seconds after the interval in a 1-1 stalemate in the German capital.

The German Under-21 international, who came through the ranks at Hoffenheim before beginning his senior career at Werder Bremen, only joined the Old Lady from RB Leipzig for a reported €8.5m (£7.4m, $10.5m) in June 2017 and Bild state that they would be very reluctant to lose their top scorer, who is supposedly content in Berlin.

Newcastle are facing a crucial final few days of the January window as Benitez desperately seeks to add greater quality to a limited squad still dominated by players that helped them win the Championship title last term, though the collapse of takeover talks between divisive owner Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners looked to quash any hopes of a significant spending spree.

Ashley was subsequently rumoured to have given the green light to three new signings last week and on Tuesday [23 January] night the Magpies finally wrapped up a loan deal for versatile Brazilian winger Kenedy after Chelsea agreed a four-year contract with AS Roma's Emerson Palmieri.

It has been speculated that managing director Lee Charnley has now been permitted to spend heavily on a striker to help bolster a feeble attack that have scored only 22 goals in 24 top-flight games so far this year, with a club-record bid of £16m for Denmark's Nicolai Jorgensen said to have rebuffed as Eredivisie outfit Feyenoord hold out for closer to £20m.

Islam Slimani of Leicester City is another possible option, while Newcastle have also been linked with loan moves for Liverpool's Danny Ings and Everton's Sandro Ramirez.

The addition of a new striker would surely allow the club to fulfill Mitrovic's wish of a January departure amid reports that an opening offer from Brighton & Hove Albion has been rejected.

The hot-headed Serbian, who sits firmly behind Joselu and Dwight Gayle in Benitez's attacking pecking order, has managed just 89 minutes of Premier League action in 2017-18 and is eager to play more regular first-team football in the run-up to the World Cup in Russia.

Multiple other clubs across several European countries are believed to hold an interest in signing Mitrovic, including Bordeaux, Marseille, West Bromwich Albion and former employers Partizan Belgrade and Anderlecht. Newcastle are looking to receive around £15m for the player.