A report this afternoon has suggested Newcastle were interested in Wigan Athletic attacking midfielder, Nick Powell, who is said to be close to joining Stoke City.
Quite where this interest comes from is not known, but Teamtalk list Newcastle as one of the teams to have missed out on the former Manchester United player.
The other clubs mentioned are Brighton and Burnley from the Premier League, Scottish treble-winners, Celtic, along with Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn, Derby and Middlesbrough.
But the Daily Mail reports it is Stoke who are set to land Powell, who was also said to be approached by German sides RB Leipzig and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Newcastle’s claimed interest seems tenuous at best
Whether Newcastle were genuinely interested, despite the claims that the club had gone as far as speaking with the player, is open to debate.
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The player, whose contract is expiring this summer, is apparently seen as an integral part of the Potters plans, and an offer of guaranteed first team opportunities is something that Newcastle were unlikely to provide.
No doubt he will be a great signing for Stoke, and for them to beat off competition from a host of rival parties will be something of a coup for a side hoping to return to the Premier League next season.
For Newcastle, the wait goes on for the first signing of the summer, and is likely to continue for some time, until the other outstanding issues at St James’ Park are sorted out.