Newcastle 'seriously interested' in £50m man and long-term CB target could still sign

It feels like Newcastle United will finally sign a new right-sided centre-back this summer.

Over the last 12 months we've tried and failed to land the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov and now Dean Huijsen, who has now ended up joining La Liga giants Real Madrid.

However, with our PSR situation much improved, both Fabian Schar and Dan Burn now 33 and Lloyd Kelly sold, now is surely the time.

Now Huijsen is off the menu, who could arrive? A surprise may well be in store, although two names keep on cropping up.

Premier League duo high on Howe's list?

The i's Mark Douglas expects Newcastle to spend big this summer and thinks a substantial chunk will go towards a centre-back.

The North East reporter explains why Illya Zabarnyi at Bournemouth could be one to watch, revealing that we're 'seriously interested' in the 22-year-old.

Whether the Cherries do sell both starting centre-backs remains to be seen, but Douglas believes that a fee in the region of £50m may be enough to tempt them, with Man City also big admirers of the Ukrainian.

Moving back to a familiar name, the i also reveal that Newcastle will be 'pushing hard' to land Marc Guehi now he's approaching the final 12 months of his deal at Crystal Palace.

That should lower the price, in theory, and long-term interest is there after our series of offers were knocked back last August, but Douglas insists that we will not take part in another public biding war.

Howe wants Toon to act fast

Speaking to the media on Friday morning, Eddie Howe talked up the importance of acting quickly in the transfer market to make sure we don't miss out.

The boss said: "My mindset is always the same when you come to this time of year. You want to act quickly because usually the best available options will move quite quickly.

"If you're too late to react, you can miss out on potential transfers that could make the difference."

It remains to be seen who is really in trouble, but should Bournemouth need a June sale to satisfy their reported PSR issues, we may just test the waters on Zabarnyi?