Newcastle United are working around the clock to land a new winger and have touched base on three players
Joelinton of Newcastle United and Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth
Newcastle United are set to make Nottingham Forest a fresh offer for Anthony Elanga as talks remained active last night.
But the Magpies have other targets in mind if they can't agree a deal for the Swedish winger. As reported on Monday on Chronicle Live, Forest value Elanga at £60m and aren't interested in exchange deals at this point.
Harvey Barnes was put to City Ground chiefs over the weekend but the deal didn't work for Forest, who insist they want to keep Elanga. Newcastle made a formal bid of £45m which was instantly rejected by the East Midlands club.
Newcastle were preparing a fresh offer for Elanga but those close to the deal said that United will walk away if they can't agree a price that they believe offers value.
The club are determined not to pay over the odds this summer, but Newcastle have been warned they face "astronomical" fees if they move for two of their other main targets.
Ironically, Elanga was donning an AFC Bournemouth shirt with Antoine Semenyo's name on the back during his holiday. The Instagram snap also featured a Newcastle shirt.
Semenyo is another long-standing target of Newcastle with the Ghanaian international able to play on either wing. But should Newcastle try to sign the star from Bournemouth they may find similar issues with Bournemouth wanting a high price for his services.
One source on the South Coast indicated to Chronicle Live that Semenyo has a set fee of £70m. Bournemouth are not in any rush to sell, having banked £90m this summer already after Dean Huijsen's move to Real Madrid and Milos Kerkez joining Liverpool.
Whether Newcastle are prepared to cough up more for a winger than has been indicated by Forest for Elanga remains to be seen.
Other names in the frame include West Ham's Mohammed Kudus who has just switched management company in order to secure either a new deal at West Ham or a move to a bigger club.
Kudus parted ways with Jennifer Mendelewitsch who secured his move from Ajax to the Hammers. He has signed up with ROOF who look after stars like Kai Havertz of Arsenal and Tammy Abraham of AC Milan.
Kudus has a release clause in his West Ham contract that runs for 10 days from July 1. However, the fee is £85m for the 24-year-old during that timeframe with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur also keen.
That price tag could be reduced but while Kudus is an exciting star he only yielded five goals and four assists last season.