Newcastle United second January transfer lined up as £11m bid & 'advanced talks' leaked - another could follow

Almiron’s former club Atlanta United have reportedly submitted a £11million bid for the Paraguayan who they sold to Newcastle for a reported £21million in 2019. Meanwhile, The Magpies have already rejected a bid from Turkish side Fenerbahce for Kelly.

Kelly joined Newcastle on a free transfer last summer but has been limited to just four Premier League starts. Almiron has been limited to just one league start so far this season despite previously being a regular in the side under Eddie Howe.

Kelly was an unused substitute in Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers while Almiron came off the bench as a substitute in the closing stages.

Ahead of the match, Howe said on Almiron’s ‘situation’:There's no situation, he's here every day, he's fighting for his place in the team, yeah, there's no change. I've not heard anything [about a return to the MLS], he's an important part of the squad.”

According to The Athletic, talks are at an ‘advanced stage’ with Newcastle considering the offer from Atlanta.

And another potential January transfer The Magpies could consider is for Kelly. Fenerbahce’s initial offer believed to be around £6million was rejected by Newcastle but the Turkish side retain an interest in the defender.

Fenerbahce are managed by Jose Mourinho and have former Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin as part of their squad.

And Fenerbahce vice-president Acun Ilicah went public with the club’s interest in Kelly this week.

“We are in talks for Lloyd Kelly transfer,” he said. “He’s a player we’re interested in. If we can reach an agreement we will transfer this player.”

But the noise from Fenerbahce’s end has been met with radio silence from Newcastle, with head coach Eddie Howe responding: “I've got nothing to give you on that, I've been preparing for the [Wolves] game, I know there's lots of rumours about lots of different things, but nothing has hit me yet.”

When asked for an update on Almiron’s situation following the bid from Atlanta, Howe repeated his message.

“It's the same, nothing has hit me,” he added.

Any potential exit would mark the second piece of transfer business Newcastle have done so far this January after loaning Isaac Hayden to Portsmouth last week.