Ex-Chelsea man 'confident' of joining Newcastle United as Magpies 'battle' West Ham for La Liga star

But before then, Howe will continue to work the Magpies squad hard on the training pitch in a bid to turn around their fortunes on the pitch.

Eddie Howe shortlists former Bournemouth players

Ahead of the January transfer window, Howe has reportedly shortlisted three of his former Bournemouth players.

They are defenders Nathan Ake and Lloyd Kelly, plus midfielder Jefferson Lerma, according to 90min.

Howe paid £63million to sign the trio on the south coast, with Lerma being his most expensive signing at £25m from Levante.

Newcastle want to sign Burnley captain James Tarkowski but expect their efforts to be rebuffed because of the two clubs being relegation rivals.

That is why Ake, now at Manchester City, and Kelly, still at Bournemouth, are apparently being considered.

The report also add that United are monitoring Juventus’ Aaron Ramsey Chelsea's Ross Barkley and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard, who are facing uncertain futures.

Newcastle interested in La Liga goalkeeper

Newcastle and West Ham are interested in signing Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, according to reports in Spain.

Referred to as “Bono” in the Spanish media, the Moroccan international has kept 42 clean sheets in 77 appearances since joining Sevilla two-and-a-half years ago.

His numbers rank among the best in Europe alongside Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer.

The 30-year-old’s form is attracting interest from England, with Newcastle and the Hammers just two of the clubs mentioned.

Michael Emenalo confident of landing Toon job

Former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo is confident of landing the director of football job at Newcastle, Eurosport reports.

The Nigerian spent six years in a similar position at Stamford Bridge between 2011 and 2016, spotting the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard.

Talk of Emenalo moving to Tyneside has gone quiet recently, however it’s claimed he remains confident he’ll be chosen as the man to work directly above Howe.

Howe and Emenalo reportedly already know each other loosely through previous Russian owners Roman Abramovich and Maxim Demim.

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