Newcastle ‘eye moves’ for five relegated players as Howe picks out £15m alternative to Arsenal star

Football365

·8 June 2023

Newcastle ‘eye moves’ for five relegated players as Howe picks out £15m alternative to Arsenal star

According to reports, Newcastle United are ‘eyeing moves’ for five players who have just suffered relegation from the Premier League.

The Magpies enjoyed a superb season under Eddie Howe in 2022/23 as they finished fourth in the Premier League.

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Newcastle were realistically targeting a top-eight finish this season so they are well ahead of schedule.

They will need to spend heavily again this summer to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Champions League and they already have their eyes on several potential targets.

The Telegraph are reporting that ‘Newcastle United have identified five summer transfer targets’ and they are looking to raid clubs who have been relegated to the Championship.

‘Leeds United’s versatile midfielder Tyler Adams, Southampton duo Kyle Walker-Peters and Romeo Lavia, as well as Leicester City pair Harvey Barnes and James Maddison, have all been discussed since the end of the season’.

Saints star James Ward-Prowse is ‘also of interest’ but his £50m price tag makes a deal for him ‘less attractive at this stage’.

The Premier League club are ‘trying to be clever’ with their recruitment as ‘the prices being quoted to Newcastle at the moment are “extremely high”, which raises the issue of the so-called “Newcastle tax”‘.

Walker-Peters has ‘impressed Newcastle’s staff’ and the fact he ‘can play at both left and right back which would make him a perfect hybrid player for Howe’.

The defender ‘could be available for £15m’, while ‘Arsenal are asking for more than £30 million for Scotland international Kieran Tierney’. On Newcastle’s interest in Maddison and Barnes, the report adds.

‘Newcastle’s interest in Maddison is long-standing and they failed with a £50 million bid last summer. A similar fee is currently being discussed, although the club know they face competition from Tottenham Hotspur for the England international, who has previously indicated a desire to play in the capital. ‘Newcastle, though, are able to offer Champions League football and sources close to the player have revealed he is tempted by the idea of a move to the North East. ‘Barnes is another potentially appealing option given he was Leicester’s top goalscorer in the Premier League last season with 13 goals and Newcastle are keen to add more goals from wide areas next term. ‘Leicester are expected to sell both Barnes and Maddison this summer to raise funds for their rebuild in the Championship.’

The report also points out that Newcastle’s main priorities this summer are to sign a ‘right-sided centre back, a full back, two central midfielders and a wide forward this summer’.