Newcastle United are believed to have Borussia Dortmund's Maximilian Philipp on their radar this month.

The Magpies have taken a look at the 24-year-old striker before after sending scouts out to run the rule on him in recent times.

Dortmund are prepared to sell Philipp in January and have already turned down one loan offer from Stuttgart this month.

Whether Dortmund would be receptive to a loan offer that contains an obligation to buy permanently remains to be seen but the player's agent has suggested he is in urgent need of regular game-time after an injury affected campaign in 2017/18 due to a patella tendon problem.

The Berlin-born striker is thought to be available for around £19million.

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Hannover and Besiktas have also been linked but are yet to make their move for the player.

This season Philipp has played just 15 games and has started just seven matches in the Bundesliga and Champions League, scoring just two goals.

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He has played just 22 minutes of action since October.

Rafa Benitez has been assured that there is money to spend in the winter window - but incoming players must fit the club's criteria going forward and have a future sell on value.

It is believed that this has resulted in some of United's more experienced targets being ruled out by the club's hierarchy.