Vincent Aboubakar was linked with a move to the Toon and was the star against Ivory Coast.

When Alan Pardew looks back on a busy summer of transfer business at St James’ Park, the Toon boss may be left feeling a tad regretful when it comes to the case of Vincent Aboubakar.

The 19-year-old Cameroon international had been linked with a move to Newcastle over the summer, following a season in which he impressed for unfashionable Ligue 1 side Lorient, scoring 16 goals in 36 games for the club.

But rather than push for a deal to sign the youngster, the Magpies instead opted to bring in AS Monaco striker Emmanuel Riviere for £6m after seeing the 24-year-old net 10 times in 30 league games for the principality club last term.

Aboubakar, meanwhile, sealed a sensational switch to Porto for a paltry £2.6m fee just before the close of the transfer window.

Yet to play a game for the Portuguese giants, the 19-year-old nevertheless grabbed the headlines this week after starring for Cameroon in an African Nations Cup qualifier against the Ivory Coast.

With Samuel Eto’o out of the international picture following his retirement, Aboubakar was able to take centre stage for the Indomitable Lions and duly delivered with two goals in a sensational 4-1 win over the Elephants.

It makes for difficult reading if you are a Newcastle fan, particularly when you consider the inauspicious start Riviere has made at the club, with the former Toulouse forward yet to find the net in the Premier League for the Toon.

Alan Pardew, meanwhile, is under increasing pressure to get results after a busy summer of spending at the club that was supposed to inspire an upturn in form for a Newcastle side that endured a nightmare run of results over the second half of last season.

The Magpies boss is rumoured to have two games left to save his job on Tyneside – would he have been in this position if Aboubakar had been brought in?