Journalist Ben Jacobs has now claimed that he’ll be very surprised if one of Newcastle United’s January targets doesn’t end up with a new club this month.
Kalvin Phillips has been a target for Newcastle for months now but things have hit a bit of a standstill as the Magpies are refusing to pay the fee Manchester City are demanding for the midfielder.
Now, Jacobs has been speaking on the matter on The Football Terrace where he claimed there is serious interest from several Premier League clubs alongside Newcastle.
There’s a new frontrunner for Newcastle’s January target
Despite Newcastle’s persistent interest in the 28-year-old, their unwillingness to pay the fee that City are asking for has allowed other clubs to enter the conversation in January.
Jacobs has suggested that West Ham are now a team to ‘keep an eye on’ in the next two weeks and that the Hammers could actually be the new frontrunners for Phillips’ signature.
Newcastle clearly feel they can find better value elsewhere which is why they haven’t made a serious move for the England international yet, but with time running out they may grow more desperate.
Jacobs has been very clear on Newcastle’s stance on Phillips, claiming that talks have not yet opened, but both Crystal Palace and West Ham are genuinely interested.
On the show, Jacobs said: “Kalvin Phillips is another one. I’d be staggered if he doesn’t go between now and the end of the window. I’m told that even though Newcastle have been linked they haven’t opened talks, Roy Hodgson says that Crystal Palace are genuinely interested, but I would keep an eye on West Ham because I’m told at the moment that it may be West Ham United who are emerging as the frontrunner there.”
Newcastle need to save their season
Newcastle could soon see their season slip away from them with another run of bad results in both the Premier League and FA Cup which would put Europe out of contention for next season.
The team are absolutely crying out for another midfielder and it’s something that the club are now discussing internally having learned of the extent of Joelinton’s season-ending injury.
Europe is still within their reach and that could be make or break for them in terms of what they’ll have to spend in the future and the star players that they can retain.
Something must be done or they risk falling further away from their long-term goals and undoing a lot of the good progress that has already been made.
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