Newcastle United in pole position to land £20m January signing after green light

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Newcastle United’s summer failings leave Paul Mitchell to pick up the pieces in January.

It doesn’t feel like four months since the summer transfer window slammed shut. Newcastle fans were left disappointed, to say the least.

The Magpies signed five players, but aside from Lewis Hall, they weren’t players who were going to make any difference to Newcastle’s first-team.

Newcastle’s win against Aston Villa shows they have good quality, but it can be bolstered in the upcoming transfer window.

Several failed Marc Guehi bids are what fans will remember most with the 24-year-old still at Crystal Palace, despite Newcastle offering up to £70million for him.

With the January transfer window looming Mitchell has been able to take time to implement his strategy and prepare for what looks to be a busy month for the new sporting director.

Now, recent reports have suggested that Newcastle would be the best-placed club to land a former Premier League star in January.

Newcastle favourites for Fikayo Tomori

Fikayo Tomori is eager to leave AC Milan after falling out of favour with new manager Paolo Fonseca – who nearly joined Newcastle in 2021.

The 27-year-old played the full 90 minutes in six of Milan’s first seven Serie A games but now has only played 13 minutes since October, sparking his desire to move away from the club he won the league with in 2022.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, both Juventus and Napoli are interested in the Englishman with the latter making initial contact. Milan however, would rather sell Tomori abroad to not bolster a rival’s options putting Newcastle in the driver’s seat for a move in January.

Tomori has asked his agent to find him a move with the thought being that a move to the Premier League would be the preferred option for the former Chelsea man.

The report suggests that Newcastle have shown the most interest in Tomori who would cost a fee in the region of £20m, much less than what they would’ve paid for Guehi.

His current contract doesn’t run out for another two-and-a-half years but Milan seems eager to cash in on the player they signed for £25m in 2021.

Tomori gives Newcastle more quality

Three years after Newcastle’s takeover, there are still several players from previous management on the books at the club.

This season does spark a time for change however with both Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles out of contract in the summer. Although a defender wasn’t Newcastle’s priority in January, £20m for Tomori looks to be a steal when PSR continues to be a problem.

If you add Dan Burn, who is 32, into the mix it would understandably give Newcastle fans cause for concern that aside from Sven Botman and Lloyd Kelly, their options at the back are reaching the twilight of their careers.

With Schar, 33, and Lascelles, 31, Tomori coming in would allow them to move on as the next wave of centre-backs come through.

If all goes well in January, Newcastle could have a partnership of Botman and Tomori before the end of the season.