Newcastle and Arsenal eye Champions League star as £42m man urged to make Magpies move

Newcastle United are reportedly considering a move for a player that has played a major role in damaging their Champions League hopes.

The Magpies are keen to add to their squad during the January transfer window and The Mirror have claimed Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Julian Brandt is under consideration by the St James Park hierarchy.

The Germany international appeared in both of Newcastle’s Champions League group stage defeats against the Bundesliga outfit, scoring their second goal in their 2-0 win over the Magpies on Tuesday night.

Crucially, Brandt remains under contract until the summer of 2027 and Dortmund are said to have ‘refused to consider any bids’ for the player they signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £22m during the summer of 2019.

Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked with a move for Brandt, who has been capped 45 times by Germany.

Former England star predicts Magpies move for Manchester City star

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes a move to take Kalvin Phillips to Newcastle United would ‘make complete sense’ for all parties.

The England midfielder has struggled to find regular game-time since he joined Manchester City in a £42m deal last summer and has been forced to watch on from the sidelines for large parts of his time with the treble winners.

Phillips has made eight appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side so far this season but just one has come as part of the City manager’s starting eleven. That has led to speculation the former Leeds man could be allowed to depart during the January transfer window - and Robinson has told Football Insider he believes the midfielder will end up at St James Park.

He told Football Insider: “It makes absolute and complete sense for both clubs. Pep Guardiola already said that Kalvin could have gone out on loan, but he chose to stay and he still hasn’t got enough minutes.

“He’s had more minutes in an international shirt. For Newcastle, with Tonali being out, they need a direct replacement and a bigger squad for the Champions League. We’ve seen them struggle recently with injuries, but they’ve still got the results. It was a disappointing loss to Dortmund, but I saw at Wolves that the application was outstanding.

“But I think squad depth is going to be apparent. They paid a lot for Tonali because they needed that type of player, so nothing’s changed between the start of the season and now. Kalvin Phillips fits the bill, get it done now.”