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Arriving at MK Dons from Real Madrid’s Castilla in July 2015, Cristian Benavente only spent six months in England before being sold to RSC Charleroi in January 2016.

Featuring just five times for the League One side, the Peru international has seen far more success over in Belgium, where his form is likely to have caught the eye of quite a few clubs.

It’s hard to tell, seeing as 27 clubs, according to Het Nieuwsblad, will be sending scouts to watch the second placed side’s clash against KV Mechelen on Friday night, but there’s every chance Newcastle, who are one of said teams, have made the 23-year-old their primary watch for the evening.

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While there’s no doubt they will also be looking at how 19-year-old prodigy Hassan Bandé does for Charleroi’s opponents, it seems too much of a coincidence that Benavente, who was sold during Benitez’s brief tenure at Real Madrid, scoring five goals in his last four games wouldn’t be the reason for their trip.

We might be completely wrong, but with Newcastle currently struggling to find the back of the net in the Premier League, could the Geordies be looking at a potentially cheap January recruit for the second half of the season?

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