Newcastle United eye THREE free transfer deals – report

United are monitoring the contract situation of possible free agents Ryan Fraser, Olivier Giroud and Adam Lallana, according to a report on the Athletic – although should any of the trio leave their clubs, competition to land their signatures is expected to be fierce.

Arsenal are one of a number of clubs keeping tabs on Scotland international Fraser, of relegation-threatened Bournemouth, while the likes of Inter Milan and Napoli could return with bids for Giroud, who is also interesting a number of clubs in Turkey. The Chelsea frontman could yet be offered another short-term extension by Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, having played a more active role following his failure to secure a January exit.

Champions League winner Lallana is set to depart champions-in-waiting Liverpool at the end of the 2019/20 season and is a player who Newcastle boss Steve Bruce rates highly.

The former Southampton man is wanted by a host of Premier League clubs, with Leicester City thought to be leading the pack.

Back in February Brendan Rodgers, who signed Lallana at Anfield, said: “Adam’s a fantastic player.

“He’s someone I brought into Liverpool and I’ve been aware of his talents since he was a young player at Southampton.

“He’s at the stage where he’s done brilliantly there and I’m sure he’ll be weighing up his options.

“For us, we don’t need to speak about that now. We spoke about it all through January, I don’t need to speak about the summer transfer window now.

“I’d only add that he’s a top-class player.”

Whenever the campaign ends, Bruce is eyeing a United reboot with a midfield overhaul at the top of his list of priorities, alongside signing a striker to take the heat off Joelinton.

The manager is thought to be keen to make the loan deal for Danny Rose permanent, but the fee for the England international could prove a stumbling block.

United’s transfer team could also opt to turn Nabil Bentaleb and Jetro Willems into permanent deals, with both transfers relatively inexpensive to convert in relation to pre-coronavirus market.