Newcastle United ‘confident’ of striking deal for England star amid scouting mission

Newcastle United returned to action with a bang on Saturday, comfortably seeing off Fulham.

The trip to Craven Cottage looked to be a tricky one, with Fulham starting the season excellently.

Meanwhile, Newcastle haven’t been able to take their chances this season, drawing too many games.

But they did on Saturday, winning 4-1 thanks to goals from Callum Wilson and sean Longstaff, while Miguel Almiron scored twice.

It was a much-needed win for Eddie Howe’s men, who now move on to next week’s clash with Brentford.

In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest transfer news and rumours surrounding St James’ Park.

Maddison hope

Newcastle are said to be confident of landing Leicester City star James Maddison.

According to Owen O’Brien, the Magpies are growing confident of striking a deal after Maddison rejected a new contract at the King Power Stadium.

Newcastle are in the market for an attacking midfielder who can also play wide, and they have had interest in Maddison and Leeds United’s Jack Harrison shot down previously.

But according to O’Brien, there may be a deal to be done for Maddison this winter, and that theory is only going to be strengthened by Leicester City’s poor start to the season.

Scouting mission

Newcastle scouts are said to have attended FC Porto’s latest outing.

According to A Bola, via Sportwitness, a Newcastle official was spotted watching Porto’s win over Braga recently.

According to the report, Newcastle were most likely watching goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who is also an international with Portugal, expected to head to the World Cup this winter.

The Magpies recently bought a new number one in Nick Pope, so it would be a surprise if they signed Costa any time soon.

But there is also the possibility the Newcastle official in question was watching someone else.