Newcastle United transfer news: Rafa Benitez eyes £5m attacker as Liverpool join Toon in race for League One star

While Newcastle United's first priority remains to tie Rafa Benitez down to a new contract, reports suggest the Magpies are keeping one eye on potential new recruits.

And according to Wales Online, United hold an interest in Swansea City hot prospect Daniel James, a player already set for a summer transfer saga.

Recent reports from the Daily Mail claimed Manchester United and Liverpool were both weighing up moves, though that is believed to be wide of the mark.

Instead, Newcastle and Bournemouth are poised to be among the lower-end top-flight club expressing an interest in the 21-year-old but the Welsh club are yet to receive a concrete offer.

The Wales international almost joined Leeds United on the final day of the January window for £5million, only for it to fall through at the 11th hour.

James isn't the only player from lower down the English league pyramid they are said to be keen on, with Coventry City's Tom Bayliss another alleged target.

It was well-documented over the weekend that United were monitoring Bayliss with a fee of £500,000 touted.

However, if they are to pursue a deal for the 20-year-old then they will reportedly face competition Liverpool and Everton, as per TEAMTalk.

Bayliss could be brought to St James's Park as a replacement for Mohamed Diame as it looks increasingly likely he will leave when his contract expires in June.

The Senegalese man hasn't started a game since the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal on April 1 with the Magpies knowing another two starts would trigger a one-year extension.

Diame has expressed a desire to negotiate a new contract but that hasn't prevented him from being touted over a switch elsewhere - Olympiakos the latest club.

He could be joined in Greece by youngster Callum Roberts with Sdna.Gr claiming the former Colchester United loanee is close to joining Panathinaikos.