Newcastle United bid 'likely' to be accepted as Leicester City and Crystal Palace stars linked

Newcastle United are reportedly keen to revisit their interest in Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi during the January transfer window.

The Magpies identified the former Chelsea defender as one of their key targets during the summer transfer window and are believed to have made as many as four offers during their attempts to land what could have ended up becoming a club record deal. However, much to the frustration of those inside St James Park, Palace remained firm in their stance and retained Guehi’s services after rejecting offers believed to have been worth over £60m.

Speaking in a revealing interview following the closure of the summer transfer window, Magpies sporting director Paul Mitchell discussed the activity throughout the close-season and, without naming Guehi, seemed to hint that United had to ‘draw a line in the sand’ and show they were not willing to ‘overpay’ for their preferred transfer targets.

He said: “Would it have been easier to sit in front of you all with hallmark signings that cost a load of money? Of course it would. “But ultimately to have them at the detriment to Newcastle’s ability to grow and high strategic ambitions just for Paul Mitchell’s glorification, that’s not the job I’m paid to do. I’m paid to do the job in the short, the medium, the long-term. I do take that part of my job seriously.”

He continued: “Is there a point of value for every single player and did maybe this football club need to draw a line in the sand of ‘we’re not going to overpay?’. Probably looking at the players we have signed – and we’ve signed some really good players – could we say that some of those players potentially cost more money than they should have done in the market at that current context? You probably could have that argument and discussion. For this club to come out and say actually, we really liked this player and thought he could have bring benefit to this squad but it is at any cost? Is it at financial risk to the organisation and our growth and our plan? I don’t think we should do that.”

Newcastle are believed to remain keen on a deal for Guehi and Football Insider have claimed Palace are ‘likely’ to accept a cut-price offer for the England defender as he enters into the final 18 months of his current deal at Selhurst Park. The report states there is ‘no sign’ of a new contract being agreed and describes Magpies manager Eddie Howe as ‘a big fan’ of the centre-back. Despite club captain Jamaal Lascelles and fellow defender Sven Botman expecting to return to fitness by the time January comes around, Newcastle are expected to move for another centre-back during the first month of the new year. However, the report also reveals the Magpies will avoid ‘putting all their eggs in one basket’ with Guehi and have identified Leicester City’s Wout Faes and RB Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba as alternative targets.