According to The Telegraph, Newcastle United have held recruitment meetings this week to determine our top summer targets, back-up options and the amount of money Eddie Howe will have to spend.
Luke Edwards reports that an ‘early bid’ for James Maddison looks highly likely, but warns that we could move onto other targets if we feel the Leicester City star prefers to sign elsewhere.
The same piece states that Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus is being considered, with this coming after The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirmed our interest in the versatile Ghanaian earlier this week.
One player who won’t be signing, however, is soon-to-be free agent Youri Tielemans. The Telegraph say he is no longer on our summer shopping list, despite prior interest in the Belgian international.
Howe is thought to want a right-sided centre-back, left-back, two midfielders and a versatile forward, while Dan Ashworth could recruit hidden gems at U21 level; something he did superbly during his time at Brighton.
The report adds that our insistence on a wage cap could limit our ability to sign some ‘elite’ players, with moves for Declan Rice or Mason Mount currently out of reach unless we agree to offer wages beyond the £200,000 mark.
