New report reveals NUFC’s ‘plan B’ if Lingard says no & left-back target now keen to sign

Newcastle United are prepared to make Jesse Lingard their highest paid player in order to bring him to St James’ Park on loan, according to 90min.

That said, Graeme Bailey’s latest piece states that the club have lined up moves for two other attacking midfielders if the Man Utd outcast turns down our offer, with Chelsea’s Ross Barkley and Tottenham’s Dele Alli both said to be back-up options.

The same report also claims that we are showing interest in Bayer Leverkusen left-back Mitchel Bakker.

The Mail revealed earlier today that we were in talks over a January deal for the Dutch U21 international – who only arrived from PSG for £8.5m last summer – but Bailey now adds that the player himself is ‘open’ to the idea of joining Newcastle.

This comes after we tried and failed to bring Lucas Digne to Tyneside last week, with the ex-Everton left-back opting for a move to Aston Villa instead in a deal worth £25m.

So, while moves for Lingard and Carlos are currently making the headlines, it seems the likes of Barkley, Alli and Bakker could also be ones to watch over the coming fortnight.

Elsewhere, The Times’ Martin Hardy – a well respected North-East reporter – claims that we prefer a permanent deal but are prepared to offer Manchester United a £2m loan fee to have Lingard for the remainder of the season.