Former West Ham and Sunderland star blasts Newcastle United's £60m move

Newcastle United will not be making a ‘particularly smart signing’ if they can complete an ambitious move for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

The Magpies were one of several clubs linked with the England centre-back since he impressed with the Three Lions during their run to the final of Euro 2024 and have made a firm move to land the former Chelsea academy man earlier this week. Reports have suggested Newcastle were unsuccessful with an opening offer for Guehi but they are expected to return with an increased bid that will be in excess of £60million and could threaten the £63million club record deal that saw Alexander Isak move to St James Park just under two years ago. Guehi is said to be open to a move to Tyneside and would provide something of a coup for the Magpies after the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal were all linked with the defender in recent months after he was one of England’s star performers during the tournament in Germany.

Should the deal be successful, it would also resolve one of the key issues facing the St James Park hierarchy during the summer transfer window. Despite the free transfer signing of Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, the Magpies are still keen on adding at least one more centre-back to their squad before the window closes at the end of the month. With Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman unlikely to be fully fit until October at the earlier, securing another centre-back to provide competition for Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Kelly is viewed as a priority and that has led to the ambitious push to see off high-profile competition to sign Guehi.

However, speaking on ESPN+, former Sunderland, West Ham United and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison has stated the Magpies could ‘spend that money elsewhere’ within their squad and is not convinced Guehi will usurp either Fabian Schar or Sven Botman to claim a place in Howe’s starting eleven should he complete a move to Tyneside over the coming weeks.

“Not really,” he replied when asked if the move excited him.  “Not because the kid is not a good player. They signed Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer, and they’ve got Sven Botman and Fabian Schar. That’s a lot of money to try and spend on what is potentially a good player, but he might not get in the team.  Ahead of Botman and Schar? No!. I don’t think it’s a particularly smart signing.  I think you could spend that money elsewhere.”

Guehi is not the only centre-back to be linked with a move to Newcastle in recent weeks. The likes of Benfica’s highly-rated youngster Antonio Silva, Nice star Jean-Clair Todibo and AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw have all been suggested as Magpies targets during that time. Interest in the latter is said to have cooled as the move for Guehi has progressed despite claims in Italy stating Thiaw was close to a move to St James Park.