Newcastle’s pursuit of fresh blood to boost European and maybe even Champions League hopes appears to be stepping up.
But quality targets are proving hard to come by with owners seemingly determined not to be held over a barrel or fleeced on account of their limitless wealth. James Maddison may well end up playing in black and white this season but Leicester are not going to make it easy and have made it plain they will not let him go on the cheap with something near a £60m package needed.
Elsewhere Newcastle will face up to a reality with their pursuit of Chelsea's Timo Werner and remain hopeful over Jack Harrison. Mirror Sport brings you the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip from St James' Park.
Maddison latest
Newcastle may be edging closer to Leicester City’s £60million valuation for Maddison but do not appear likely to prise him away from the King Power with their second offer. Sky Sports are reporting the Magpies have improved on an opening sub-£40m bid which was rejected at the weekend. But the new offer is not thought to be close to the Foxes valuation of the former Norwich man which is £60m.
Newcastle they are now waiting for a response for their £40m plus add ons but are not expecting Leicester to roll over. If Newcastle's offer was to be accepted, Maddison would become the club's record signing - eclipsing the £40m they paid Hoffenheim for Joelinton in July 2019. Maddison scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions for Leicester last season
Werner future clearer
Werner appears unlikely to swap west London for the north east despite Newcastle’s offer of a loan deal with a return to the Bundesliga the most likely option. According to The Athletic Newcastle were unwilling to explore anything other than a temporary deal on the Chelsea striker. And Chelsea are in talks with RB Leipzig over a potential deal to move Werner to the German club as part of a potential swap deal for Josko Gvardiol. The German is one of the attackers Newcastle were tracking but it was claimed they were not interested in making a signing permanent.
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Harrison deal alive
More positive are the vibes around the Toon’s pursuit of Jack Harrison despite failing with a £33.5m offer for the Leeds United attacker. The 25-year-old joined the Yorkshire club on a permanent deal from Manchester City last summer and was in strong form during the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 10 goals and registering two assists in 38 appearances. And he has reiterated he is looking forward to the start of the season with Leeds.
Yet Newcastle are still keen on the attacker, and according to Foot Mercato the Magpies are likely to revisit and revise a £33.5m offer already on the table. The transfer news outlet claims that Leeds have turned down the bid and will refuse to sell the forward unless they receive an offer of £39.4m. But Howe’s side are believed to be confident that they will be able to come to an agreement over Harrison before the end of the transfer window.
Dennis speaks out
One target which seems to be receding into the distance is Emmanuel Dennis despite the Watford striker once again reminding would-be suitors he is available. The Hornets’ Nigerian striker has been linked with both St James’s Park and West Ham and hinted he is still open to a move after a decent display against Sheffield United in Watford’s Championship opener on Monday night. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Dennis, 24, said: “I enjoyed the game today, we won the game, so I’m happy, I’m still a player of the team so I just do my job and we’ll see what happens.”
