Newcastle United to miss out on free agent as January target is made 'available' for transfer

Newcastle United have been away in Australia recently and played friendlies against Tottenham Hotspur and an A-League All Stars team. Eddie Howe’s side finished the last Premier League season in 7th place.

They won 4-2 away at Brentford on the final day of the campaign before heading Down Under. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours regarding the club...

Midfielder latest

Newcastle have been linked with a swoop for former Everton, Chelsea and OGC Nice midfielder Ross Barkley following Luton Town’s relegation to the Championship. He joined the Hatters last year on a free transfer and has since been a key player for the Bedfordshire outfit under Rob Edwards.

In this latest update regarding his situation by Football Insider, Aston Villa are poised to win the race for his signature as they prepare for Champions League football and have apparently reached a ‘full agreement’. The report adds that the Toon Army have registered an ‘interest’ in him over recent times but they will have to look elsewhere for targets.

January target update

Newcastle looked at signing Kalvin Phillips in the January transfer window, as per i News, before he ended up joining West Ham instead on loan. The ex-Leeds United struggled to make an impact with the Hammers though and has now gone back to the Etihad Stadium with his future up in the air.

Phillps, who is 28-years-old, moved to Pep Guardiola’s side back in 2022 but his career has stalled since then and he may well be on the move once again in the near future for a fresh start somewhere else. HITC Sport claim City will make him ‘available’ for transfer as they look to cut their losses and free up some space in their squad to bring in some other reinforcements.