Newcastle United news: Algerian attacker linked; Benitez in pole position to sign striker; takeover latest

Brahimi’s contract with Porto expires in the summer and the player has been watched by a number of English clubs.

Correio da Manhã reports that Everton, Newcastle and West Ham are all monitoring the midfielder, who could sign a pre-contract with a Premier League club in January.

The 28-year-old attacking midfielder or wide man helped Porto to the league title last season.

Elsewhere, Salomon Rondon's future has been under the microscope again since his two goals at the weekend.

The striker is on loan at Newcastle for the season from West Bromwich Albion, where he still has 18 months on his contract left to run.

The Venuzuela international is set to depart the Hawthorns next summer even if the Baggies get promoted back to the Premier League, and Newcastle would be in pole position if they want to make the deal permanent for the striker who was Rafa Benitez's No 1 strike target in the summer.

One player who looks unlikely to return to Newcastle in the summer, however, is Jack Colback, who admits his future under Benitez is 'bleak.Meanwhile, Benitez is continuing to sift through a list of January transfer targets with head of recruitment Steve Nickson. However, there is still no guarantees on how much money he will receive from owner Mike Ashley, with the club remaining up for sale.