Newcastle United ‘lead race’ ahead of Everton and Leeds United for England international as Toon close in on former Chelsea director of football

Here is all the latest gossip surrounding Newcastle United:

Newcastle lead race for England international

Chelsea’s Ross Barkley has been a well-known and long-term target for Newcastle, even before their £305m takeover.

However, no approach was made by Newcastle in the summer and Barkley remained at Chelsea, despite being down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

This looked like opening the door for Newcastle to swoop and reports today suggest that they are the front-runners for Barkley’s signature - ahead of Leeds United and his former side Everton.

Whilst Barkley has struggled for first-team football on a regular basis this season, he has been used more regularly by Thomas Tuchel recently, featuring in four of their last five Premier League matches.

According to TeamTalk, whilst Newcastle reportedly lead the race for the 27-year-old, Chelsea are still weighing up whether to send Barkley out on-loan in January, meaning Newcastle may have to sit-tight on this one.

Price reportedly set for Juventus star

Juventus have reportedly set a £15m price tag on Adrien Rabiot amid speculation linking the Frenchman with a move away from Serie A.

Real Madrid and Newcastle are believed to be interested in the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder who has spent the last two seasons at Juventus.

Rabiot would add great quality to Newcastle’s midfield and according to Calciomercato, United are interested in securing his services in January.

Director of football search update

Former Chelsea and AS Monaco sporting director Michael Emenalo has emerged as the leading candidate to take up a director of football role at Newcastle United.

Emenalo oversaw the most successful period in Chelsea’s footballing history during his decade at Stamford Bridge, as well as overseeing the arrival of stars such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

According to The Telegraph, Emenalo is now the ‘leading contender’ to become director of football at St James’s Park and that talks between the parties will continue throughout the international break.

Emenalo told The Guardian last year that he was looking for opportunities to get back into football and that it would preferably be with a ‘serious club - ideally in the Premier League’.

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