Newcastle scouts are monitoring Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates as the club draw up transfer options in the event of relegation.
Newcastle are making a big push in the transfer window to strengthen their side after the club’s £300million Saudi takeover.
But as well as going for signings to bolster their survival bid under Eddie Howe, scouts at the 18th-placed club are also working behind the scenes for the summer.
Among their priorities is assessing potential targets in the event of relegation into the Championship.
Forest midfielder Yates has emerged as a strong possibility after rave reviews this season.
The homegrown star, 24, has impressed with Steve Cooper’s side in their surge up the table.
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But the ace only has 18 months left on his contract until next summer after signing a new deal in 2019.
This season he has made 26 League appearances with three goals.
His stock has been rising since Martin O’Neill gave him his breakthrough in 2019 when assistant Roy Keane spotted his potential.
The strapping midfielder has a good engine to go box to box, is decent in the air and strong in the tackle.
On Saturday, Newcastle returned from a training trip to Saudi Arabia and face Everton in their next Premier League game on Tuesday February 8.
Yates is not under consideration for a move this month as Newcastle focus on proven top-flight players.
They have already signed Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood but have been rebuffed by a string of other targets including Ashley Young.
Newcastle do look set to strengthen before the window shuts as midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has passed his medical ahead of a £30million move.
A Magpies contingent - including head of recruitment Steve Nickson - travelled to Brazil to complete formalities on a deal that will see the midfielder become the club’s third January arrival.
They have also agreed a £13million fee with Brighton for defender Dan Burn.
But they have been unable as yet to agree a loan for Manchester United outcast Jesse Lingard.
The 29-year-old has barely played for United this season, with several Premier League sides interested in signing him before the January transfer window closes on Monday.
But United have reportedly set huge demands for a temporary switch to the Magpies, leading Lingard's brother Louie Scott to compare his sibling's situation at Old Trafford to that of a prisoner.
Scott posted on his Instagram account a year to the day after Lingard joined West Ham on loan, with a picture of the United academy product celebrating a goal for the Hammers.
The caption read: 'A year ago today he was 'allowed' out on day release,' followed by three cry-laughing emojis, with 'Now we know what Akon felt like,' written underneath the image.
American-Senegalese artist Akon's lead single from his hit debut album was 'Locked Up', a track containing the lyrics: 'I'm locked up, they won't let me out.'
Lingard joined West Ham on loan in January 2021, having not played a single league game that season for United, and played a starring role in David Moyes' side qualifying for Europe - scoring nine and assisting five in just 16 appearances.
