Fabrizio Romano: Paul Mitchell battling Chelsea and Spurs to sign long-term Newcastle target

With the return of European football guaranteed for next season, and fresh activity anticipated in the transfer market, it’s shaping up to be an exciting time on Tyneside for Newcastle fans.

Having been linked with the likes of Liam Delap, Bryan Mbeumo and Gregor Kobel in the past few weeks alone, it’s fair to say we’ll see a number of new faces at the club by the start of the 2025/26 season.

But one target in particular remains high on our transfer watchlist, and this upcoming dwindle could be the one where we finally strike a deal to make him a Newcastle player.

Newcastle still want Guehi

According to Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle's interest in Marc Guehi hasn't gone away and we’re one of three Premier League clubs eyeing a move for the Crystal Palace captain.

Writing on his X account, Romano said: 'Tottenham, Chelsea and Newcastle remain all keen on signing Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace as he’s been on their lists for months.

'There’s also a possibility Guehi goes on free transfer in 2026 if a deal can’t be agreed this summer.'

Considering our ongoing pursuit of a right-footed centre back this summer and Paul Mitchell's serious pursuit of the defender, a renewed bid for Guehi could make perfect sense if his asking price has dropped.

Even if he left a lot to be desired in his two performances against us this season (where he has the unfortunate honour of two own goals), few can deny the England star’s leadership and defensive capabilities at his best, as we saw at Euro 2024.

Last summer’s transfer debacle, where Crystal Palace and Steve Parish reportedly took great pride in wasting our time in negotiations, no doubt left a sour taste in the mouths of many, including Paul Mitchell.

But at the negotiating table this year, we find ourselves in a much better situation, whilst Palace themselves face a predicament, knowing this summer may be their final chance to land a decent fee.

Cut-price deal worth the wait?

Despite numerous bids last year and a final offer worth £60m+ that was turned down by the Eagles, Oliver Glasner’s side risk losing Guehi on a free if they don’t sell him in the next two windows.

Whilst Palace may very well win the FA Cup this season and secure European football for themselves, losing Guehi and missing out on tens of millions of pounds in transfer fees is something his side may not be able to afford.

So, could we perhaps strike a cut-price deal with Palace for the defender’s services this summer? Securing Champions League football makes us an immensely attractive prospect, especially if Chelsea miss out on a top five finish and Spurs do not win the Europa League; their only route to being in Europe next season.

Otherwise, we will have the summer of 2026 pencilled in our calendars for hopefully striking first and securing Guehi on a free.

We’ve shown in recent months how committed we are to landing long-term targets like James Trafford, and it seems Guehi is no exception with fellow target Dean Huijsen appearing a difficult race to win.