Eddie Howe issues surprise Newcastle United transfer update after 'very close' agreement claim

PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko has been targeted by Newcastle and reports from Voetbal Krant in the player’s home country Belgium claim the club are ‘very close’ to agreeing personal terms fo the £41million-rated winger.

But when asked whether Newcastle were indeed ‘very close’ to agreeing any deals, Howe was quick to play things down.

“[The report] does surprise me because that's not the reality,” said The Magpies boss. “We're not close to sealing any transfer.

“We always have targets, we always have things bubbling along in the background. The recruitment team will be doing a lot of work of course in preparation for potential opportunities that arise. But at the moment that's not the main body of our work.”

Newcastle play nine matches across the next six weeks and the January transfer window with Howe insisting his focus is mainly on managing his side.

“It's been very, very loose [transfer] discussions this week but there hasn't been many discussions in great depth on January because we've got a lot of games and our focus is on the matches and we're restricted to what we can and can't do,” Howe added. “It's not our main focus at the moment, certainly not mine anyway but we are aware January is around the corner and we'll need to be reactive and ready to do certain things.”

When asked what would need to happen for Newcastle to sign a player, Howe responded: “Everything has got to align, a lot of things will have to come together for us to [sign a player].

“It's not through a lack of desire or want from anyone at the club to do that. It's got to be right not just for the here and now but for the future as well so we have to be responsible and make sure that any decision we make doesn't affect us in future windows.”

Newcastle targeted Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi in the summer for a potential club-record transfer fee but eventually walked away from the deal due to the asking price and the impact paying it would have had on future transfer windows and the club’s need to sell players.