Newcastle United target £80m Premier League duo as Celtic hit by Arsenal transfer twist

After signing Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento so far this summer, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he ‘would love’ to make one more signing but insists the club would need to be ‘creative’ with what is likely to be their final transfer move of the window. ‘Creative’, in this instance, means looking at loan deals or structured payments that would help the club adhere to Financial Fair Play rules.

A left-back is high on the priority list for The Magpies while they have also explored the prospect of signing a centre-back without any success. United have monitored Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney since last season but distanced themselves after The Gunners demanded in excess of £30million for the 26-year-old.

Tierney was left out of Arsenal’s matchday squad for the Premier League season opener against Nottingham Forest and has also been linked with a return to Celtic, whom he joined Arsenal from for £25million back in 2019. But Newcastle have swooped back in.

According to The Telegraph, The Magpies are now exploring a loan move for the Scottish international and Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurrella is also of interest on a loan deal. Cucurella joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion for £55million last summer but has struggled since his arrival.

The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. Any potential deal will include an option or obligation for Newcastle to buy the player next summer.

But reaching an agreement with one of their Premier League rivals could prove difficult for The Magpies. Arsenal are keen to sell Tierney this summer while Newcastle have had no success dealing with Chelsea in recent transfer windows despite numerous enquiries.

Newcastle have spent around £125million on new signings so far this summer and have confirmed one major departure with Allan Saint-Maximin leaving to join Al Ahli for £23million. Chris Wood also saw his loan move to Nottingham Forest officially become permanent this summer, banking the club around £15million in total.