Newcastle play waiting game in move for Everton's Brendan Galloway

Newcastle United still have not given up hope of signing Everton defender Brendan Galloway.
Rafa BenitezRafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez

The club has been involved in talks over a move for the 20-year-old, but Everton are unwilling to let the left-back leave Goodison Park until new manager Ronald Koeman has secured another defender.

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez is also in the market for a striker and a winger, while he is looking for “solutions” for those fringe players who aren’t in his plans for the Championship.

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“We are quite close to some players, but you never know until you finalise (the deals),” said Benitez.

“You can talk and everything is agreed, but something can change at the last minute.

“We are trying to bring in players and find solutions for some players.”

Newcastle hope to complete their business in advance of transfer deadline day on August 31.

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Benitez added: “We don’t want to do it in the last day or the last minute. We want to do it before. We are trying to do that.”

Meanwhile, United forward Siem de Jong is set to join PSV Eindhoven on a season-long loan.

De Jong has had two injury-hit years at St James’s Park, and Benitez feels the move will help the 27-year-old rediscover the form that persuaded Newcastle to sign him from Ajax.

“I had a conversation with Siem,” said Benitez. “We both agreed that he has to play.

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“He has to play regularly after these years with some little problems.

“I think it was the time to give him a chance to play every week.

“It’s an opportunity. Everything is more or less done. Hopefully, he can go to PSV, play and enjoy his football, and afterwards we can bring him back and he can play at the level we know he has.

“The main thing is that he has to play. He can go there and play and reach the level we know he can play at.”