- 8 hours ago
Newcastle prepare another raid for Crystal Palace defender Guehi
Newcastle United remain determined in their pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, despite their unsuccessful attempts to sign the 24-year-old during the summer transfer window.
According to The Telegraph, sporting director Paul Mitchell plans to revisit a potential move for Guehi in the January window.
Eddie Howe's side endured a disappointing summer window. Aside from turning Lewis Hall’s loan into a permanent deal, Newcastle's additions were mainly for squad depth, including Lloyd Kelly, William Osula, and backup goalkeepers John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos.
READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals
The Magpies last offer of around £65m (€77.3m) plus add-ons did not convinced Palace to sell and Newcastle then walked away from the move.
FootballTransfers had confirmed Newcastle’s interest in Mohamed Simakan as a potential alternative to Guehi but the Frenchman left RB Leipzig to Al-Nassr instead.
Newcastle ended window without marquee signing
The club are unbeaten this season despite the poor window. The have two wins and a draw under their belt while they managed to progress in the League Cup after beating Nottingham Forest on penalties.
Mitchell is driving recruitment and the former AS Monaco executive opened up to reporters about the club's struggles behind the scenes and what fans can expect in the future.
He was critical of Newcastle's previous recruitment and even hit out at the former regime. But his words have reportedly offended Dan Ashworth and other former recruitment team members. It's thought that they "have been hurt and bemused by claims from new sporting director Paul Mitchell that the club’s transfer structure was not “fit for purpose.”
His interview had "not gone down well with those who were involved in signing players before he took over. These include Ashworth, who left the club in February for Manchester United, as well as former co-owner Amanda Staveley, her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi and chief scout Steve Nickson."
Though Newcastle have enjoyed some brilliant signings, it had been done at the expense of missing out on two transfer windows without being able to make a proper signing.