In his latest piece for the iNews, Mark Douglas has revealed that Newcastle are pushing to bring in ‘at least’ two more defenders.
The £30m sale of Allan Saint-Maximin is set to be confirmed soon and ‘should open things up a bit’ when it comes to incomings, with a left-back and ‘pacey centre-back’ two of our top priorities.
Elsewhere, it’s thought we remain in talks with Southampton over right-back Valentino Livramento, but the stumbling block centres around a £10m gap in valuation. We’ve had a £30m bid rejected and the Saints are pushing for £40m.
Douglas believes it was quite telling that recruitment experts Dan Ashworth and Andy Howe (head of scouting) have travelled to the US, insisting we ‘remain active’ in the market after spending just over £90m on Sandro Tonali an Harvey Barnes.
Elsewhere, the opportunity to sign players on loan is expected to open up in the final two weeks of the window – which shuts on 1st September – and Newcastle are receptive to such deals if the right players become available.
Loans with obligations or options to buy appeal from a FFP perspective, allowing us to recruit without committing to a substantial payout this summer.
