Newcastle United to benefit from Chelsea transfer swoop - according to ex-Everton man

Newcastle United were heavily-linked with a move for the former Fulham man this summer, before interest from Chelsea gazumped their attempts to convince him to make the switch to St James’ Park. Instead, Adarabioyo will work under Enzo Maresca, a man he was coached by during his time at Manchester City, at Stamford Bridge this season.

After seeing their attempts to sign Adarabioyo fail, Newcastle United turned their attention towards ensuring their interest in Lloyd Kelly would not end with similar disappointment. Fortunately for the Magpies, they were able to secure Kelly’s signature, signing him up to a five-year contract at St James’ Park.

Kelly will add competition at both centre-back at and left-back and will be a particularly good option for Eddie Howe to have at his disposal whilst Sven Botman remains on the treatment table after sustaining an ACL injury. Speaking to ESPN, Hutchinson revealed his belief that Kelly is a better player than Adarabioyo and that Newcastle have benefitted from their initial rejection: “They’ve signed Lloyd Kelly, who I think is a very good player.” Hutchinson said. “Tosin [to] Chelsea. Kelly is a better player than him. I think they’ve had a result there.”

Kelly became Newcastle United’s first confirmed signing of the summer last week, with Lewis Hall set to be their second once his loan move is turned into a permanent deal next month. The summer transfer window officially opened on Friday and will run for eleven weeks until Friday 30 August.