'Very good player' - Eddie Howe goes public with Newcastle United interest in £70m target

The Magpies made several bids in an attempt to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace in August but were unable to strike a deal with their Premier League rivals - who were holding out for upwards of £70million for the England international. Newcastle retain an interest in the 24-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer of 2026.

Howe had previously shut down questions about Guehi during the summer transfer window.

“I’m still not going to comment on individuals,” he said. “That’s not fair to other players at other clubs.”

The Newcastle head coach remained tight-lipped when asked about the Palace captain ahead of his side’s visit to Selhurst Park last month.

“It’s very difficult to comment too deeply,” Howe explained. “Marc is someone we respect and he’s a very good player.”

But when speaking on Up Front with former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, Howe spoke more openly about Newcastle’s interest in Guehi.

“[Guehi] wasn’t the only target,” Howe told Jordan. “A lot goes into a summer, you never just have one target - that wouldn’t be right.

“We went into the summer with several targets and we tried to sign two or three other players but we didn’t get them.”

Newcastle were criticised for seemingly putting all their effort into signing Guehi opposed to looking at other potential targets. A deadline day move for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga was reported but was quickly denied by the club.

And Howe admitted that Guehi was the club’s only target during the final days of the summer window.

“We ended up towards the end of the window with one target and we didn’t get him so that was it,” he said.

The Magpies could test Palace’s resolve once again in January having been willing to break their transfer record to sign the defender in the summer. The club have failed to make a major signing in each of the last two transfer windows with Howe recently suggesting his squad risks becoming stale without fresh additions.