Newcastle United 'prepared' to offer brutal £60m Nottingham Forest swap deal to avoid PSR trouble

Newcastle have enquired about the 23-year-old winger who scored six goals and assisted 11 for Forest during the 2024/25 Premier League season, playing all 38 games.

The Magpies’ interest in Elanga is nothing new as the club held talks with Forest about the Sweden international last summer but a deal never came to fruition.

Now Newcastle have reignited their interest, Elanga won’t come cheap as Forest want to keep hold of the player. Manchester United also have a sell-on clause following Elanga’s £15million move to Forest back in 2023, which will impact negotiations over a fee.

Forest are understood to be looking for around £60million for the 23-year-old.

There is a belief at Newcastle that Eddie Howe and his staff can help Elanga raise his game further and become one of the top wingers in the Premier League. And with the added incentive of Champions League football and his existing relationships with Alexander Isak, Emil Krafth and William Osula, the player would be open to a move.

Newcastle United consider Anthony Elanga swap deal

Due to Forest’s high valuation of Elanga, a cash plus player option could be something Newcastle explore this summer. Due to amortisation, cash plus player deals can often prove effective when it comes to circumventing PSR, provided money is received in the opposite direction

According to TEAMtalk, Newcastle are ‘prepared’ to offer Harvey Barnes as a potential makeweight to help secure Elanga from Forest. A deal would see Barnes join Forest for a cash sum that would help fund Elanga’s move to Newcastle.

The teams effectively swap players while also receiving a cash injection that they can amortise over the length of the incoming player’s contract.

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Eddie Howe on Harvey Barnes’s impact at NUFC

Barnes joined Newcastle from Leicester City for £38million in 2023 and has since gone on to score 14 goals in 63 appearances for the club. Although used largely as a substitute, Barnes played a key role in helping Newcastle win the Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League during the second half of the 2024/25 season.

And Newcastle head coach Howe has been pleased with the impact Barnes made.

“Harvey's played in his position and he’s played it very well,” Howe said. “He's an undoubted goal threat in every game and he's one of our highest players for shooting and chances created, so I'm delighted that he's shown everybody just how good he is.”

While Newcastle would ideally want to keep Barnes, the 27-year-old’s value is unlikely to increase with Gordon now back in the picture. As such, he’s a player that could be sold (or swapped) if the price is right.

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Anthony Elanga teases NUFC shirt on Instagram

Elanga got Newcastle supporters talking over the weekend after posting his latest Mykonos holiday photos on Instagram.

One image saw him on a padel court wearing an Antonie Semenyo AFC Bournemouth shirt while his partner was wearing a Newcastle United 2024/25 shirt.

Newcastle trio Osula, Anthony Gordon and Sven Botman all commented on the post.

“Henjoyment my boy,” Osula wrote.

Defender Sven Botman simply said, ‘Mykooo’ in reference to Elanga’s holiday destination while Anthony Gordon commented: “Yallaaa.”

Roughly translated, ‘yalla’ means ‘let’s go’ - so watch this space.

Your next Newcastle United read: Anthony Elanga teases NUFC shirt on Instagram as Anthony Gordon & Sven Botman react