As January and the winter transfer market creep ever closer, Newcastle United are beginning to make newspaper headlines across the continent. Multiple reports this week, in both the Netherlands and Belgium, suggest the Magpies are closing in on a deal for Johan Bakayoko of PSV.
The winger, 21, has been catching the eye in the Eredivisie and was recently rewarded with a call up to the Belgian national side. Now, with the next trading period around the corner, he is again being tipped to leave Eindhoven for a new start in the Premier League.
His creativity, confidence on the ball and age profile make him an ideal target for Eddie Howe's Newcastle side. Crucially, away from the pitch, the player's contract currently runs out in 2026, meaning the January window could be the last chance for PSV to cash in before his market value plummets as he enters the final months of his deal.
This is the same situation as seen with Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi, who is yet to put pen to paper on a Selhurst Park extension. As such, the centre-back is being tipped as a contender to leave the club in January to ensure the Eagles aren't forced to sell him on the cheap next summer.
Newcastle spent weeks at the negotiating table for Guehi in the summer with a move failing to materialise. Liverpool are also said to be keen on making a move.
PSV, according to well-placed sources in the Netherlands, have rather overambitious hopes of holding out for a big fee for Bakayoko's services next month, while Newcastle are looking for a knockdown price given the player's contract situation and the fact they remain in a tricky position, financially, themselves heading into next month's window.
Despite two consecutive trading periods with Howe's first-team not strengthened, the boss continues to insist it will be a quiet month of incomings if the north east outfit fail to offload players of their own first. The Newcastle chief was also questioned on talk that a Bakayoko agreement was close, at Friday's pre-match press conference, but shot down such speculation.
“That’s not the reality,” said Howe. “We’re not close to sealing any transfer or closing in on any player. For me, the discussions on January have been very loose.
“It’s been very loose discussions, there hasn’t been many discussions in great depth on January, and that’s because we’ve got a lot of games and our focus is on the matches, and we’re restricted to a degree on what we can and can’t do.
“I don’t think that’s our main focus at the moment, it’s certainly not mine anyway. But of course, we’re aware that January’s coming around the corner, and we’ll need to be reactive and ready to do certain things, I’m sure.”
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