Newcastle United transfer bombshell as 'talks' with £40m midfielder confirmed - club desperate to agree deal

Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton is set to have his season brought to a premature end as he prepares to undergo surgery on his thigh injury next week.

The Brazilian damaged his quadricep tendon during Newcastle's 3-0 FA Cup win at Sunderland earlier this month. Although head coach Eddie Howe initially said Joelinton would be out for at least 'six weeks', an operation will extend his spell on the sidelines until the summer.

And with that there are growing fears that the 27-year-old may have played his last game for the club amid reports of a contract stand-off. Mail Sport claim that new contract talks with Joelinton have proven difficult with the midfielder looking for a new deal that would see him become the club's highest earner.

As it stands, The Magpies' hierarchy are unwilling to meet Joelinton's wage demands. Unless an agreement can be reached before the summer, Newcastle may be forced to cash in on one of their key players or risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Joelinton is still on the original six-year deal he signed when he joined from Hoffenheim for a then-club-record fee of £40million in 2019. Despite a difficult first couple of seasons at the club, the Brazilian international transformed under Howe's coaching as he dropped into a deeper midfield role.

He has played a key role in helping Newcastle avoid relegation before achieving a top-four finish over the past two seasons. His form at Newcastle has seen him called up to the Brazil national team for the first time.

Howe is understood to be desperate to keep Joelinton and was asked earlier this season whether he would like to see the player agree a new deal.

“Definitely," he said. "We want to try and build up the squad and that doesn’t mean we take for granted keeping the players that we already have.

“We have to give them the right environment to want to stay and hopefully we have. Obviously, finances come into that as well."

As things stand, Newcastle and the player are still some way apart regarding the finances with the hope an agreement can be reached before the end of the season.