£400k-a-week midfielder would be a great signing for 'massive club' Newcastle United – insists former Arsenal teammate

Here is a round-up of some of today’s Newcastle news...

Jack Wilshere admits Aaron Ramsey would be ‘a great signing’ for ‘massive’ Newcastle

Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey is understood to be on Newcastle United’s radar ahead of the January transfer window.

The 30-year-old Wales international has 18-months left on his deal with the Serie A giants, where he has endured a difficult spell since arriving from Arsenal in 2019.

Ramsey has played 70 times for Juve since his arrival, scoring six goals.

Juventus may allow the Welshman to leave for free in January but it will come with a potentially pricey caveat given his reported £400,000-a-week salary in Turin.

But former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere believes his former teammate would be good piece of business for The Magpies.

“He would be a great signing for them,” he told talkSPORT. “It’s a massive club, Newcastle.

“He obviously had a successful spell at Arsenal, went to Italy, he hasn’t played as much as he wanted to. He’s probably wanting to get back here, he’s got a young family.

“[He can go to a] big club, who are potentially going to be even bigger in the next four,five years.”

But former Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent wasn’t quite as optimistic about Ramsey’s potential Premier League return.

“Listen, I think he’s got great pedigree when he plays for Wales,” he responded. “As Jack said, he’s not played much football over the last few years.

“The last time he played 30 games in a season was back when he was at Arsenal in 2015/16, league appearances that is.

“I think Newcastle fans would like the signing but if you were to say ‘this is your superstar signing coming back to save you in the Premier League’, I don’t think they would be overwhelmed with that.

“That’s simply from an injury perspective as well.”

Magpies hire transfer consultant

Newcastle have hired former Celtic and Reading director of football Nick Hammond as a ‘transfer consultant’ ahead of the January window, according to reports.

The Magpies are still looking to appoint a director of football to provide some structure and direction off the pitch as they prepare for what is set to be a crucial month of transfer business.

The 54-year-old also has experience as technical director as West Bromwich Albion.

Premier League managers to meet and address COVID concerns

As it stands, five Premier League matches have been postponed this weekend due to COVID-19 outbreaks at clubs.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe fears the integrity of the Premier League is at risk with half of the fixtures being cancelled due to the infectious disease.

And Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard confirmed that the league was organising a crunch meeting on Monday to address concerns and answer questions related to COVID’s impact on football.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola cancelled his Friday press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to Newcastle following an inconclusive COVID-19 test. He may be forced to sit out the trip if he doesn’t return a negative test in time.

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