Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham ‘approach’ former Barcelona defender as £30m move ‘completed’

Competitive football returns to St James’ Park two weeks from today as Aston Villa travel to the North East in the opening weekend of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Newcastle United still have plenty of pre-season preparations to work through between now and then and there is also the small matter of the transfer window which is still open for another month. The Magpies are now being linked with a former Barcelona defender but could face competition from West Ham.

Elsewhere, a current Newcastle star has reportedly completed his much publicised £30 million exit from the club. Here are the latest Newcastle United transfer news headlines on Saturday, July 29:

Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham ‘approach’ former Barcelona defender

According to French publication Nice-Matin, Newcastle United have approached Nice over 23-year old defender Jean-Clair Todibo ‘in recent months’. The France youth international signed for the Ligue 1 club in 2021 have previously been with Barcelona where he spent time out on loan at the likes of Benfica and Schalke 04.

Fellow Premier League sides West Ham United and Aston Villa are also credited with having been in contact over Todibo as have PSG and Napoli. The player is under contract until 2027 and is said to be targeting a call up to the France senior men’s squad for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals next summer.

Allan Saint-Maximin seals £30m Newcastle United exit

Per a report from the Daily Mail, Allan Saint-Maximin’s time at Newcastle United is over after the winger completed a £30million switch to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli. The Frenchman’s move to the SPL has been highly publicised in recent weeks and now looks to have been officially completed.

Al-Ahli, who are under the same majority ownership as United, are expected to announce the Frenchman’s arrival imminently. The exciting winger’s time at the Magpies looked to be coming to an end this summer regardless but the arrival of Harvey Barnes from Leicester City seems to have been the final push.