Newcastle United rumours: Toon plot raid for £10m defender, Arsenal also keen; Benitez in frame for PL return

Funds look set to be tight on Tyneside once again, and Steve Bruce may have to be frugal in his approach to bringing in fresh faces.

One player the Magpies have already been linked with is Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer, and former Toon player Lee Clark believes it would be a smart move.

Speaking recently, he said: "He is an outstanding player. I have seen quotes of £6-8million out there – he is definitely a player you can improve and he will be worth a lot more than that.

"When I signed him off Brendan (Rodgers) – he was manager of Celtic at the time – we had an agreement at the time to play him in midfield, even though we all knew he was a centre-half. It was so he could get used to playing with the ball in tight areas, and then eventually move back into centre-half with that ball-playing ability.

"He is an unbelievable professional – he was captain of Norway when he was still a teenager. He is six foot six inches and is the type of player who always wants to stay back and do that bit extra. And for the price, there is a lot of ability there.

"There is some rawness and some rough edges that need smoothed out.

"There were a lot of clubs out there who didn’t want to take a risk on Virgil Van Dijk because he played in the Scottish league and didn’t get tested. There are similarities."

We’ve gathered the best of today’s Premier League transfer speculation below...