Newcastle United ‘ready’ to pay £15m release clause for Aston Villa target as Hearts ‘win’ race for teenager

Since the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) takeover of Newcastle United was completed in October 2021, the Magpies have spent their money wisely - despite becoming one of the richest clubs in the world. As they have made their way up the Premier League table, United have snapped up the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman and Nick Pope.

With the January transfer window open for over a week now, it comes as no surprise to see that Newcastle continue to be heavily involved in the market as they look to bolster their chances of claiming a place in Europe for next season. Meanwhile, they have also looked to offload some youngsters, as well as some dead wood.

With another three weeks remaining until the window slams shut again, we take a look at the latest transfer news surrounding St. James’ Park today.

Newcastle ‘ready’ to pay £15m for attacker

Newcastle United are ready to pay the £14.9 million release clause of Mallorca playmaker Lee Kang-in, according to Marca. The Magpies have been in competition with Aston Villa to sign the South Korean.

Kang-in joined Mallorca from Valencia for just short of £9m in 2021 despite failing to score a single goal during the previous season. However, the 21-year-old looks to have enjoyed plenty of improvement on the Spanish island and has picked up five goal contributions in 16 matches during the current campaign, with Mallorca sat 10th in La Liga.

Kang-in’s impressive performances in Spain has earned him a lot of attention, with a number of clubs said to be in attendance for Mallorca’s win over Atletico Madrid in November. However, it now looks like the Magpies could win the race for his signature as they look to pay his release clause this month.

If Newcastle are to sign the attacker then it could raise questions as to whether they will still look to bring in James Maddison, who has been heavily linked with a big money move to St. James’ Park since the summer. The England international has netted seven goals in only 13 matches for Leicester City this season.

Hearts ‘win’ race for Garang Kuol

With Newcastle United youngster Garang Kuol poised for a loan move away from Tyneside, it comes as no surprise that the Daily Mail have now reported that Hearts have won the race for his signature. The Australian flew into Newcastle for the first time in recent weeks after joining the club from Central Coast Mariners.

The 18-year-old looks to have a huge future with the Magpies but, with Eddie Howe eager to get him some regular game time, he had been heavily linked with a move to Scotland amongst other clubs. Hearts were likely to have had an advantage in their pursuit of Kuol due to the Australian trio that play for the club in Nathaniel Atkinson, Cameron Devlin and Kyle Rowles - with the latter playing alongside Kuol in New South Wales.

Speaking last week, Howe confirmed his potential departure this month, saying: “I do think for the player’s development, he needs to go and play. If possible, that would be at a very good level, with a good club and a good coach.”

Read more on Kuol’s loan switch here.