North-East reporter claims NUFC will now cash in on top talent - Price set at just £3m

According to David Coverdale, Newcastle United have Adam Armstrong that he can now leave the club - with the 21-year-old now made available for just £3m.

The Sun's North-East reporter claims that the striker does not feature in Rafa Benitez's plans and could be moved on permanently this summer after several loan moves away over the past few months.

He featured in this week's pre-season win over St Patrick's Athletic and has been back with the first-team group after a prolific few months on loan at Blackburn, however it seems like Rafa's seen enough.

The alleged price-tag is a funny one. He's yet to prove himself at the top level, but £3m for a young English striker full of promise seems like a bargain for the right team.

Here's a snippet from David Coverdale's latest piece on the striker, confirming Newcastle's plans to cash in with 'a number' of Championship sides keen:

'ENGLAND youth star Adam Armstrong has been told he can leave Newcastle.

'The Toon want £3million for the highly-rated striker, 21, who is attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs.

'He has been told he does not feature in Rafa Benitez’s plans.'

It's a funny one with Armstrong. He looks a great finisher, has electric pace and is a bundle of energy, however he's yet to actually prove himself at Championship level - never mind in the Premier League.

He's been prolific at both Coventry and Blackburn during temporary spells in League One, however he failed to make the same sort of impact in the Championship with Bolton and Barnsley.

Considering we need to 'sell before we buy', it may make sense to cash in, but I for one would be tempted to send him on a season-long loan to the Championship and give him one last chance to prove his worth to Rafa.

After all, £3m is peanuts in this day..