Juventus face potential Lloyd Kelly issue that benefits Newcastle United

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Juventus face a potential stumbling block in their pursuit of Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly this month.

It was only last summer that Newcastle United signed Lloyd Kelly as a free agent following his departure from Bournemouth.

The 26-year-old centre-back signed a five-year deal at St James’ Park, keeping him on Tyneside until 2029.

However, Lloyd Kelly has played less than 600 minutes across all competitions this season and is now being heavily linked with a move elsewhere.

Eddie Howe wants to keep Kelly at Newcastle, insisting he is still a key part of his long-term plans at the club. Ultimately, though, Newcastle are still under the shackles of PSR and will want to raise cash through sales this month.

Juventus interest in £17m Lloyd Kelly deal

Interest in Kelly first arrived from Turkey, but Newcastle rejected Fenerbahce’s Kelly bid earlier this month after it fell well below the club’s asking price.

Newcastle want £25.3m for Kelly and the Magpies are in a strong negotiating position given that he signed a long-term deal with the club as recently as last summer.

After Fenerbahce’s failed approach, Juventus opened talks for Kelly with the Serie A giants being long-term admirers of the centre-back.

Juventus are working on a £17m loan-to-buy deal for Kelly and Newcastle have not completely closed the door on him leaving Tyneside before the window closes on February 3rd.

Newcastle fans believe Kelly should be sold to raise funds with the likes of Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Sven Botman ahead of him in Howe’s pecking order anyway. A £17m-plus fee would provide a huge boost to the club’s PSR calculations.

Premier League clubs also want Lloyd Kelly

One issue that Juventus are facing in their pursuit of Kelly is that they are not the only interested club.

According to The Athletic, at least two Premier League clubs are monitoring Kelly’s situation this month.

READ MORE: Lloyd Kelly’s future at Newcastle United takes a turn as major Aston Villa development emerges

Newcastle are yet to receive any concrete offers from English clubs, but the mass interest in Kelly could benefit the club by allowing them to demand a higher price from Juventus.

In terms of replacing Kelly, Newcastle missed out on Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis this month so will likely wait until the summer before bringing in a new centre-back. That is the risk Howe will have to take if Kelly is sold this month.