Some big claims have emerged from The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards this afternoon, who claims that Newcastle United are ‘closing in’ on three new signings.
A deal for Bruno Guimaraes is all but done, with the 24-year-old set to undergo a medical today after we agreed a £40m deal with Lyon, however it’s reported that Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah and Brighton’s Dan Burn also look likely.
Edwards reckons we’ve been working on a deal for Nketiah for ‘some time.’ He’s not only out of contract this summer, but Howe is said to be keen on signing another striker now Callum Wilson is expected to be missing until ‘March at the earliest.’
The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Crystal Palace, however The Telegraph report that we are in pole position to sign the striker – who is good friends with Joe Willock – and hope to see him arrive on Tyneside over the weekend after talks progressed in recent days.
He’s only been handed four starts in all competitions this season, yet has scored five goals in that time – with three of those coming against Sunderland in a 5-1 win in the EFL Cup last month.
As for Burn, Edwards reports that the 6ft 7′ defender has made it clear to Brighton that he’d like to seal a return to Tyneside, being a boyhood NUFC fan who was released by the club at the age of 11.
Newcastle look set to make a second bid for the centre-back – who can also operate at left-back – and are clearly confident of getting this one done too; providing the Seagulls don’t slap an unrealistic asking price on his head after rejecting our initial bid (believed to be around £7-£9m).
Elsewhere, it seems a move for Jesse Lingard is all but dead after Man Utd refused to budge on the mammoth ‘survival bonus’ they will demand should we stay up – making the deal worth a total of £16.5m for just 17 games!
A proposed move for Bayer Leverkusen’s Mitchel Bakker also appears to be off – maybe due to the fact the Bundesliga side wouldn’t have time to find a replacement for the left-back?
Nketiah would be a decent signing, being a former England U21 talent who could also help Joe Willock – being a very close friend of his and a former Arsenal teammate.
Burn would also add experience, versatility and some composure on the ball, with the giant defender not only versatile and surprisingly mobile for his size, but confident on the ball after coping well in Graham Potter’s possession-based side.
It’s a shame that the Lingard deal looks dead, however I still wonder if Man Utd could buckle in the final 48 hours of the window given they’ll lose him for nothing in the summer and be left to pay his wages in full over the next five months should they refuse to lower their demands…
