According to new reports emerging on Friday afternoon, Newcastle United have identified two back-up options if moves for Diego Carlos and Jesse Lingard don’t progress in the coming days.
Starting at centre-back, Graeme Bailey – a former Sky Sports reporter now at 90min – claims that we could turn to Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car if we don’t agree a fee with Sevilla soon.
He reports that the Ligue 1 side are open to letting the 25-year-old Croatian international leave on a loan with a view to a permanent deal; something that’s said to appeal to NUFC chiefs.
The same piece also claims that we’ve already held talks with the 6ft 4′ centre-back to sound out whether he’d be keen on a January switch to St James’ Park.
Elsewhere, former ESPN reporter Pete O’Rourke claims that we could now move on to Tottenham’s Dele Alli after becoming ‘frustrated’ in our attempts to land Jesse Lingard.
Football Insider also claim that we’ve opened talks with the 25-year-old, stating that Howe has sanctioned a move for the attacking midfielder he tried to sign on two occasions during his time at Bournemouth.
Alli has started just two Premier League games since Antonio Conte arrived at the club and is believed to be available on loan, with him in desperate need of a move to resurrect his career after a disappointing few years.
Personally, I would prefer to bring in Lingard – a hard working player who had a huge impact on West Ham this time last year – while a move for Caleta-Car would also feel slightly underwhelming after such a drawn out pursuit of the highly-rated Carlos.
Saying that, Alli could arrive with a real point to prove and Caleta-Car can’t be any worse than our current crop of centre-backs!
Who would you like to see us go for if moves for Lingard and Carlos fail?
Getting worse by the minute.
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