Newcastle United eye second January signing as West Ham United man ‘looks certain’ to join

West Ham sources confirm defender set to join Newcastle United

Newcastle United could be set for a return for West Ham United full-back Harrison Ashby after a failed deadline day move for the 20-year-old.

Ashby has been limited to just two first team appearances in the Europa Conference League this season but is yet to feature in the Premier League in 2022-23. The Hammers academy graduate’s contract at The London Stadium is understood to expire this summer with the player reluctant to sign a new deal given his lack of first team opportunities.

A West Ham ‘insider’ has told club news site Claret & Hugh that Ashby ‘looks certain’ to join Newcastle. The move could either come on a cut-price deal in January or on a free transfer in the summer.

A January deal would see Ashby follow Garang Kuol in at Newcastle for the new year.

Expert believes ‘£300m’ commercial deal at Newcastle United ‘will be announced next summer’

Newcastle United are reportedly seeking a new major multi-million pound sponsorship deal ahead of the 2023-24 season. Newcastle are understood to have negotiated an early exit from the £6.5million-a-year sponsorship deal with FUN88 as the club aims to have a new front of shirt sponsor in place for the start of next season.

It has been claimed that a new sponsor could also be worth up to £300million should a long-term agreement be reached. PIF have stakes in hundreds of major companies that could potentially become Newcastle’s new sponsor.

And commercial expert and head of sports services at JMW Solicitors Ben Peppi told Football Insider that a 10-year deal worth up to £30million per-season could be on the cards.

“I’d suggest over a 10-year deal we’re looking in the region of £20-25m,” he said. “If it’s significantly inflated, we could be talking £30m-plus, and I think we are definitely looking at an associated-party deal.

“I certainly think that this deal will be announced next summer. It seems like the stars are aligning towards that.”

Newcastle’s sponsorship deals will have to represent ‘fair market value’ as per the Premier League’s ruling.

Gareth Bale reveals he met up with Newcastle United star ‘a lot’

Ahead of Wales’ World Cup clash with England on Tuesday night (7pm kick-off), Gareth Bale discussed his relationship with England and Newcastle United right-back Kieran Trippier.

The pair both lived in Madrid together while Bale was at Real Madrid and Trippier played for city rivals Atletico Madrid. As the only two British players in either squad, they spent a lot of time together in Spain.

“We met up quite a lot,” Bale revealed in his pre-match press conference. “Our families were together quite a lot so yeah, I know Kieran really well and his family.

“He did great when he came over. It’s not easy to move abroad as a lot of Brits don’t do it. So we were there to help, try and help them because we’d been there for a while.

“He’s obviously done well since he’s gone back to Newcastle as well. He’s been performing well for England so we look forward to facing him [in Qatar].”

Bale was loosely linked with a move to Newcastle before he joined Los Angeles FC in the summer.