Newcastle United transfer news: United linked with La Liga stars, Middlesbrough star a ‘target’ for West Ham

The latest round of EFL Cup fixtures is now out of the way and it’s time for the final round of Premier League fixtures before domestic football goes on hiatus for the FIFA World Cup finals.

Newcastle United welcome Chelsea to St James’ Park as Eddie Howe’s side look to go into the winter break on a high. League football will then return on Boxing Day when the January transfer window will be just around the corner. Here are the Premier League transfer news stories making the headlines on Friday morning:

Middlesbrough are hoping to finalise a new long-term agreement with midfielder Pharell Willis, who is a target for Premier League sides West Ham and Crystal Palace as well as Championship rivals QPR (Team Talk)

Borussia Dortmund fully believe that Jude Bellingham isn’t determined to leave this summer and that the chances of him staying are good (90min)

Southampton will pay Luton Town in excess of £4 million in compensation for Nathan Jones, who was named manager of the Premier League side on Thursday (Telegraph)

Aston Villa have set their sights on signing an A-list forward in January with Unai Emery given the green light to recruit a versatile operator who can potentially play anywhere across the front line (Football Insider)

Tottenham are ready to bring in fresh faces in the January transfer window to reinforce Antonio Conte’s squad, with plans drawn up to sign a right wing-back and backup forward (90min)

Former Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin is now a target for Jose Mourinho’s Roma with Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot no longer a transfer option (Calciomercato)

Newcastle United are laying the groundwork to sign Shakhtar Donetsk sensation Mykhaylo Mudryk, who has been heavily linked with Arsenal in recent weeks, for what could be a club-record fee of £50m (Football Insider)

Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres is the latest La Liga based star to be linked with Newcastle United with the North East side also thought to be keen on Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco and Real Betis forward Nabil Fekir (Fichajes)

Leeds United want to sign striker Jose Cifuentes, who plays for MLS side LAFC, but face competition from Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion with the Seagulls submitting an offer of just over £5 million (HITC)