Newcastle ‘eye’ summer swoop for Napoli and Bayern Munich stars as Watford boss believes relegation battle will be a ‘real dogfight’

Here is all the latest gossip from St James’s Park and beyond:

Muller yet to negotiate with Bayern

Thomas Muller has revealed that he is yet to negotiate a new contract with Bayern Munich.

Muller’s current deal at the Allianz Arena is set to expire at the end of next season and he had been surprisingly linked with a move to Newcastle United in January.

A move for the Germain international never materialised, however, it is possible that the Magpies could revisit a potential deal in the summer because, as Muller told SportBILD, he is yet to talk with Bayern over a new deal:

“No one from the club has approached me. So you have to see what the future will bring.”

Hodgson on relegation battle

Roy Hodsgon believes that his Watford team have enough to survive the drop this season, however, he has acknowledged that it will be a ‘real dogfight’:

“I wouldn’t have accepted the challenge had I not believed we could help the club stay in the Premier League.

Hodgson continued: “It’s going to be a real dogfight this year because the teams at the bottom are all a little bit adrift and with 18 games to go you’re very worried that a defeat is going to put you further back.”

Magpies ‘eye’ Napoli ace

As the transfer deadline approached, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen was linked with a big-money move to St James’s Park.

As with Muller, a move for Osimhen never happened, however, reports in Corriere dello Sport state that Newcastle could return to Naples with another bid, however, they will not just be targeting Osimhen this time.

That’s because it is Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz that is reportedly the target of Newcastle’s attention.

Newcastle reportedly had a bid of around €34million rejected in January for Fabian and a price tag of £40million has been set on the midfielder.

Although Napoli would not want to lose one of their key players, with his contract expiring in summer 2023, they may be forced to sell him rather than lose him on a free.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor