£45m player now confirms he nearly signed for Newcastle United in June

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Newcastle United very nearly addressed their centre-back problem back in June.

While July and August were dominated by Newcastle United’s pursuit of Marc Guehi, the Magpies had been looking at other right-sided central defenders before going all in on the Crystal Palace captain.

The summer started with the quest to land Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer. Newcastle were confident about signing Tosin, only for Chelsea to hijack their deal.

Newcastle almost signed a centre-back amid PSR scramble

Newcastle’s attention then turned to their PSR problem, which almost culminated in Anthony Gordon leaving St James’ Park to sign for Liverpool.

As part of the deal, Newcastle wanted a player in return. The Magpies asked about Jarell Quansah, but the Reds said no.

However, they were willing to let Joe Gomez leave, and a £45million deal was drawn up. Meanwhile, Gordon looked on course to join Liverpool for £75million.

Gomez was happy to join Newcastle, while the two players had medicals pencilled in to take place in Germany, as they were both away with England at Euro 2024.

However, the deals collapsed, as Newcastle solved their PSR crisis by selling Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson.

Joe Gomez opens up on failed Newcastle transfer

That meant that Newcastle suddenly did not need to sell Gordon, which in turn meant that the Gomez deal was off too.

Now the Liverpool defender has opened up about the Toon transfer saga during an interview with the Athletic, where he was asked how close he was to leaving Anfield.

“Yeah, it was definitely for real,” he said.

“But my focus was always on the club. I know how blessed I am to be here. It will be 10 years next summer. I don’t take that for granted.

“It is the best club in the world in my eyes and (after the transfer didn’t happen) it was quickly a case of adapting and getting right back into the swing of things.

“It was quickly put to bed. That’s football. I am a big believer in focusing on the present. To be somewhere nearly 10 years and not have any blips would not be natural, which probably speaks about my ambition.”

Newcastle need a player like Gomez, but had a lucky escape

There are a few ways to look at this from a Newcastle United perspective.

On the one hand, Newcastle United missed out on the right-sided centre-back they continue to crave. Eddie Howe only has Fabian Schar who can play in that position, putting the 32-year-old under a lot of pressure to remain fit and available.

Getting Gomez would have lifted that pressure, while the 27-year-old is also capable of playing at right-back.

On the other hand, Newcastle should be very grateful that they did not sign Gomez, as it would have meant Gordon going the other way.

It would have been a disaster had the 23-year-old left. He is one of Newcastle’s best and most important players, and there is still scope for him to get even better.

All the while, Newcastle’s search for a centre-back goes on. Newcastle are unlikely to sign Guehi in Janaury, while the Magpies have scouted Abdukodir Khusanov.

In truth, it feels likely that Newcastle will put their centre-back search on hold until the summer due to PSR.