£5m Newcastle United flop set for summer transfer after Champions League heroics & Man Utd link

The Champions League semi-finals produced an unlikely hero for Real Madrid as Joselu came off the bench late on to score twice and beat Bayern Munich.

The 34-year-old striker came off the bench in the 81st minute with Real trailing 1-0 and facing a semi-final exit. But the former Newcastle United and Stoke City forward drew the Spanish side level in the 88th minute before scoring again in stoppage time.

It secured a record-extending 18th Champions League/European Cup final for Real, who now face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on June 1 (8pm kick-off). Joselu had won no major club honours before joining Real Madrid last summer but is now on the verge of a La Liga and Champions League double in his first season back at the club.

His brace also put him in a very niche club of players who have come off the bench to score twice to help their side progress to the Champions League final. Rodrygo helped Real Madrid complete a stunning late comeback against Manchester City in 2022 while another former Newcastle player in Georginio Wijnaldum came off the bench and scored twice for Liverpool as they overturned a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona to win 4-3 on aggregate.

On each occasion, the side has gone on to win the competition that season.

Reflecting after the match, Joselu said: “I’m excited, a lot of interviews. I want to enjoy the moment.

“The game is very quick for me because I entered the game in the last 15 minutes and a lot of things happened in these minutes. For me, it’s very important to score the first one because we needed it in this moment. The second one absolutely destroyed the game and I’m happy for that.

“I’m happy for that, I don’t remember the last time [I scored] two goals in very quick time but I’m very happy for that because we are in the final again. Now we have three weeks to prepare [for] this game.”

For Joselu, it marks a stunning turnaround in the twilight years of his career. The Spaniard was cast off by Newcastle having scored just six Premier League goals in 46 appearances after signing from Stoke City for £5million.

He subsequently suffered successive relegations with Alaves and Espanyol but his respectable goal return of 52 goals in 144 La Liga appearances saw Real Madrid take a punt on their former player as an initial loan signing. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have an option to make the loan permanent at the end of the season for just £1.3million.

Joselu has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season, including five in the Champions League. The veteran forward is now a regular in the Spain national team having earned his first cap in 2023.

He has 12 months left on his contract at Espanyol but Real Madrid could choose to trigger their option to sign the forward while Premier League side Manchester United have also been linked with a shock move, according to reports from Spain.