The January transfer window opens next Tuesday and it could be a vital month for Newcastle United, who have eyes on centre-backs and right-wingers we failed to sign over the summer.

It remains to be seen if we’ll be able to strengthen, with sales set to be key as PSR issues continue to cause problems, but Eddie Howe has made it clear that we’ll be in the market to recruit if an opportunity arises.

Rumours and rife at this time of year and there’s some big claims coming from France regarding our reported interest in a certain Ligue 1 centre-back. Here’s the latest:

Newcastle eyeing Lens star?

According to Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis, Newcastle hold serious interest in RC Lens sensation Abdukodir Khusanov.

Speaking to Lens Foot this week, the Ligue 1 reporter revealed that we are “very, very interested” in bringing the 20-year-old to St James’ Park.

It’s been suggested that it would take around €25-30m to sign the Uzbekistan international, who has just over two years left on his contract with Lens.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been linked with the aggressive 6ft 1′ defender, with The Telegraph revealing earlier this month that scouts from Newcastle and Spurs were watching the player closely ahead of the January transfer window.

Khusanov could make plenty of sense

It’s been suggested recently that Paul Mitchell wants us to find the ‘next big thing’ for a reasonable price over paying a premium for readymade Premier League players like Marc Guehi.

If this remains the case, links to the likes of Khusanov would tally up with everything we’re reading and make perfect sense in the world of PSR; providing he really is the real deal.

I can’t claim to have seen much of Khusanov at Lens, but he’s believed to be composed on the ball, very quick and a tough defender who takes no prisoners.

Time will tell if we up our interest and believe he’s ready to be Sven Botman’s long-term partner in years to come, though he certainly seems like one to watch our for as we head into January.