Newcastle United target ‘£58m’ Manchester United ace as official statement confirms fresh injury

Newcastle United eye ‘£58m’ Manchester United star as one of six major summer signings

Newcastle’s interest in Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay is heating up once again ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Telegraph have reported that Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has identified the 26-year-old Scottish international as a transfer target for the summer after identifying the player as a potential option last year. McTominay’s game time at Man United has been limited under Erik ten Hag.

He has started just once in the Premier League since the World Cup break and has seven starts in total this season. Behind the scenes, Newcastle’s backroom staff are in agreement that McTominay would be an ideal addition to the club’s midfield.

At the start of the season, CIES Football Observatory Weekly somewhat controversially valued McTominay at £58million though Man United would realistically accept around half of that should Newcastle make a move in the summer.

In addition to McTominay, The Telegraph report claims Howe is targeting around five more new signings with the expectation of competing in European football next season. Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney remains on the club’s radar.

Official announcement confirms fresh Newcastle United injury blow with player set to miss two matches

Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope has withdrawn from the England squad due to injury and been replaced by Tottenham Hotspur’s Fraser Forster.

England confirmed Pope’s withdrawal in a short statement which said: “Pope will remain with Newcastle United after reporting an injury following his club’s win at Nottingham Forest on Friday.”

Pope will miss England’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine but will be hoping to be available for Newcastle’s return to Premier League action against Manchester United on April 2 (4:30pm kick-off).

Former referee slams VAR intervention for disallowed Newcastle goal

Elliot Anderson thought he’d scored his first Newcastle goal in Friday’s 2-1 win at Nottingham Fores t as he headed the ball in from Alexander Isak’s cross only for the goal to be ruled out for offside following a VAR check from referee Paul Tierney.

Sean Longstaff was the player adjudged to have been offside in the build-up to the goal despite two Nottingham Forest players playing the ball before the midfielder touched it.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher assessed the disallowed incident on Sky Sports News. He said: “One of the biggest clues was that Nottingham Forest set to kick off and they were waiting to kick off again when there was the delay checking the goal.

“I don’t really see why the VAR got involved because for me, Felipe clearly goes to kick the ball out for a corner. Jacob Murphy, who isn’t in an offside position, behind him would intercept the ball and he knows that.

“If we go through the laws, has the ball travelled from distance? Definitely. Has the player had a clear view? Definitely. Was the ball moving quickly? Not particularly. Was the direction of the ball unexpected? It’s come to him, and he’s gone to intercept the ball. Has he had time to coordinate his body movement? He’s gone to kick it out for a corner, which you’d expect a defender to do in that position.

“It ticks all the boxes so for me it’s a goal.”