Newcastle United and Aston Villa scouts watch Euro 2024 star hailed by Virgil Van Dijk

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The latest transfer talk from Newcastle United as the Magpies look to add a winger to their squad during the summer transfer window.

Newcastle United and Aston Villa were reportedly represented at Galatasaray’s 2-1 home win against Hatayspor on Friday night - and reports in Turkey have revealed which player was being monitored by the Premier League rivals.

The Magpies and Villa are both expected to battle for a place in Europe once again during the upcoming Premier League season and are both said to be keen to add further new faces to their squads before the summer transfer window comes to a close at the end of this month. Newcastle have already completed the additions of goalkeeping duo John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos, Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly and Sheffield United forward William Osula, as well as converting Lewis Hall’s loan deal into a permanent move to St James Park.

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However, the Magpies remain in talks over a big money move for Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi and remain determined to complete a deal for a winger before the end of the month. The likes of Barcelona star Raphinha, Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga and Wolves winger Pedro Neto in recent weeks - although the latter is on the verge of joining Premier League rivals Chelsea after they agreed a £54m deal for the Portugal international.

Turkish outlet ABC Gazetesi have now claimed Newcastle and Villa are monitoring Galatasaray star Baris Alper Yilmaz and were both on hand to witness an ‘energetic’ display as goals from Mauro Icardi and Michy Batshauyi helped his side to a 2-1 home win against Hatayspor. The Turkey international has reportedly come to the attention of several clubs across Europe after his side reached the last eight at Euro 2024 and his performance in a quarter-final defeat against the Netherlands left a lasting impressing on Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk.

Speaking after overcoming Yilmaz’s Turkey with a 2-1 win in Berlin, the Reds captain said: "Even the first half was different from itself. We started well, kept possession. Turkey stayed back a bit. Then Turkey scored. It was a beautiful pass from Arda Güler that led to the goal. We stayed calm and started the second half. We worked hard and got the result. Barış Alper Yılmaz was constantly running. He was a real handful. It's tough for any defender. He gave us a hard time. He didn’t score, but if we were to describe him, he's truly an important player.”

As well as being a key player for his country, Yilmaz remains an integral figure at Galatasaray and seems likely to command a sizeable fee should he be allowed to depart the Turkish giants before the end of the summer transfer window. Both Newcastle and Villa will face a difficult challenge to persuade Galatasaray to sell one of their prize assets as Yilmaz still has three years remaining on his current contract with the Super Lig club. Although there is no suggestion of the fee required to tempt Galatasaray into a sale, there have been reports stating the Turkish side will require an offer of over £30m before they will enter into talks over a possible deal.

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