Mitchell set for contract talks, Guehi sold Newcastle switch and Turkey trip rubbished

Paul Mitchell is expected to hold contract talks with Anthony Gordon over the next 48 hours in a bid to end any lingering doubts around the winger's future.

There were fears that Gordon's head was turned at the end of June, when the club reluctantly discussed a potential deal with Liverpool before PSR concerns were satisfied by the sales of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest.

Gordon's stance should become clearer this week as he returns from an extended break along with fellow England teammate Kieran Trippier, but Newcastle will be left with a tough decision to make if extension talks stall, with Gordon having only two years left on his current deal. It's been suggested that the club do have an option of a further year, but it could leave Newcastle in a vulnerable position if a positive resolution isn't found.

As we revealed last week, Newcastle have no intention to sell. The club insist talks with Liverpool were born out of the PSR chaos and looming threat of a potentially devastating points deduction. However, Gordon's value has never been higher following a superb 2023/24 campaign and resultant breakthrough into the England squad, meaning now would be the time to sell - albeit reluctantly - if extension talks stalled and it did become clear he wanted to join boyhood club Liverpool.

In better news, Newcastle are making progress on a deal to sign leading centre-back target Marc Guehi; another of Mitchell's top priorities as he pushes to strike a deal with Crystal Palace and convince Gordon to commit his future to the club. Should Guehi sign, it would be a major coup for Mitchell and statement signing as he looks to make an immediate impact after replacing Dan Ashworth.

It's believed Gordon has played a key role in selling a move to St James' Park to Guehi. The pair are close off the pitch and know each other well from their time together through the England ranks, where they've played together at youth and senior level.

This comes after reports on Monday night indicated that Guehi had encouraged his agent to push through a move to the North East, suggesting he was sold on the club's ambitious project, plans for the upcoming season and the opportunity to work with Eddie Howe.

Interestingly, the 24-year-old is represented by Unique Sports Group; the same agency that looks after Gordon - their most valuable client - along with Newcastle players such as Callum Wilson, Lewis Miley, Jamaal Lascelles and Isaac Hayden. Of course, this only means so much, but the fact USG have plenty of previous with Newcastle can only benefit talks and our hopes of sealing a deal should a transfer fee be agreed with Crystal Palace.

Elsewhere, it's our understanding that Paul Mitchell did not travel to watch Galatasaray attacker Barış Alper Yılmaz on Saturday night.

Reports in Turkey suggested our Sporting Director had jetted out to Istanbul to watch Yilmaz in the Turkish Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Besiktas. However, it's believed the Turkish international is not on our list of right-winger targets as things stand and that our 42-year-old transfer expert flew back with the Newcastle squad on Sunday evening.