Newcastle United could be about to face another transfer market test as their pursuit of Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga has awoken rival teams.
You can never really expect Newcastle to have a clear run at any transfer target. In fact, we'd probably be a bit worried if we were the only club trying to sign a particular player, as it suggests we're not privy to some important data.
However, it would be nice, if just for once, when we identify a player, the 'cartel six' would just sit one out and let us be the top dogs.
We've held an interest in Anthony Elanga for a while and even made an attempt to sign him last summer, though we left it way too late to make it a serious attempt.
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Anthony Elanga could be wanted by three cartel clubs
Newcastle have awoken the beasts
This year, we've started our hunt earlier, but in doing so, we've made other big clubs take a look.
Now,The Boot Room claims that Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and of course, Chelsea are all looking towards Elanga, which could be a problem for Newcastle.
We should feel confident of going toe-to-toe with Villa and Spurs, but Arsenal and Chelsea could be a problem.
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The Cartel Six could scupper another Newcastle United transfer
If Arsenal and Chelsea enter the race, they will be in a position to offer Elanga much higher wages than we could, although you could also argue that about Tottenham, given the huge difference between their revenue and ours.
The big saving grace is that Arsenal moving for Anthony Elanga makes no sense unless they're preparing for life without Bukayo Saka. The two are almost identical players, same age, same position, both known for blistering pace and an eye for goal, so why would they want a clone?
If someone from Newcastle went and bought a pack of gum, we'd expect someone from Chelsea at the shop trying to buy the same one, so we're not too shocked by their name being mentioned. We just have to hope they aren't too serious either.