Newcastle United target Nikita Parris signing in push to reach WSL

Newcastle are interested in signing the England striker Nikita Parris from the Women’s Super League club Manchester United. The newly promoted Women’s Championship side are hoping to sign a striker to boost their chances of reaching the WSL, and they are targeting the 71‑cap Lioness.

A transfer fee would be required if Newcastle were to sign her, after Manchester United triggered a one‑year extension to the 30‑year‑old’s contract until 2025 this summer by exercising an option in her deal.

Related: Women’s transfer window summer 2024: all deals from Europe’s top five leagues

The Liverpool-born Parris, who has scored 17 goals for her country and represented Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics, has been with Manchester United since 2022. The former Manchester City, Lyon and Arsenal forward, who began her career at Everton, was the Football Writers’ Association’s women’s footballer of the year in 2019 and was part of the England squad for their Euro 2022 triumph.

Newcastle are newcomers to the Championship but are ambitious and eager to reach the top tier of the women’s pyramid. They believe that signing a goalscorer of Parris’s pedigree could be key to helping them chase what would be a third successive promotion after their title‑winning seasons in tier four in 2022-23 and in tier three last season.

Becky Langley’s side have signed several high-calibre, experienced international players this summer, including the left-back Demi Stokes, who joined from Manchester City and was another member of England’s Euro 2022 squad.

They have also signed the Northern Ireland midfielder Rachel Furness as well as the former Chelsea and Reading defender Deanna Cooper. The Jamaica forward Shania Hayles also joined the north‑east club this summer and their business is not finished yet.

Parris was Manchester United’s top scorer last season with eight league goals and she scored a further eight goals in cup competitions to end the campaign with 16.

There has been a range of big-name signings this summer at other clubs in the Championship as teams strive for the division’s single promotion spot, not least London City Lionesses’ eye-catching move to sign the 35-year-old Sweden star Kosovare Asllani.