Newcastle United add wantaway £50m Ajax star to shopping list as scouts make short trip to Middlesbrough

The party has just about died down on Tyneside after Newcastle United booked their spot in the Champions League next season with a point against Leicester City on Monday night.

The Magpies dominated the meeting but Dean Smith’s relegation-threatened side clung on for a point to keep them in the mix come the final day of the season.

A trip to Chelsea remains for Eddie Howe’s side on Sunday but already talk is turning to transfers this summer. Here are the latest rumours from Newcastle United.

Ghana star ‘player of interest’ for Newcastle United

The Telegraph has reported that Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus is a target for Newcastle United this summer.

The Ajax attacking midfielder has already told the club he plans on leaving this summer, three years since now Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag brought him to the outfit.

The 22-year-old has 18 goals and six assists for Ajax this term and is valued at £50 million ahead of a rumoured move to the Premier League.

Newcastle are said to have earmarked Kudus as a ‘player of interest but there is nothing more in it than that at this stage’.

Capable in a variety of roles, Kudus has spent much of this season on the right wing and could bolster Newcastle’s midfield options ahead of a return to Champions League football next season.

Newcastle United could snap up North East starlet capable of big things

Newcastle are one of a handful of Premier League clubs who have sent scouts to watch Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney in recent weeks.

90min report that Arsenal, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest are also courting the 20-year-old who broke into the Middlesbrough first team from the youth academy this year.

The midfielder has flourished under Michael Carrick and is widely regarded as one of the second division’s most exciting prospects.

Boro are braced for multiple bids this summer for Hackney, who is contracted until 2026, but Newcastle could sway the youngster with their North East connection.