Transfer Round-Up: Newcastle interested in Manchester City midfielder; Middlesbrough midfielder attracting interest from Germany

The big news last night was the departure of chief scout Graham Carr, with Rafael Benitez having strengthened his grip on power as a result. The pair have been at loggerheads for the majority of Benitez’s reign, and with Carr gone, the Newcastle boss will have an even greater say on the club’s transfer business.

Might that business yet feature Pepe Reina? The Magpies had all but given up hope of landing the former Liverpool goalkeeper, but his ongoing contract discussions with Napoli are yet to be resolved and Newcastle are waiting in the wings closely monitoring developments.

Florian Lejeune’s £8.7m transfer from Eibar is still on track, but Tammy Abraham has slipped through the net, with the Chelsea forward set to confirm a season-long loan to Chelsea.

The new name to emerge this morning is that of Manchester City midfielder Fernando, with Newcastle sizing up a possible £5m bid for the Brazilian, who was signed from Porto for £12m in 2014.

Newcastle want an experienced central midfielder this summer, and having previously inquired about Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva, Fernando is now also on their wanted list.

MIDDLESBROUGH

The big news at Boro this morning is about a player staying at the Riverside. Popular goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos is on the verge of signing a one-year extension to keep him with the Teessiders, and given that he is a former team-mate of new boss Garry Monk from his time at Swansea, he could find himself back in the first team next season.

Monk is still expected to sign another keeper this summer, with Victor Valdes and Brad Guzan having left, and that new shot-stopper will compete with Konstantopoulos and returning loanee Connor Ripley for a place in Boro’s starting side.

Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga remains one of Boro’s leading targets, along with Swansea centre-half Kyle Bartley, who spent last season on loan at Leeds United.

Gaston Ramirez heads the list of players set to leave the Riverside this summer, and he could be joined by Viktor Fischer, with German club Mainz hoping to seal a deal for the Danish midfielder.

SUNDERLAND

Transfer talk is on the back burner at Sunderland at the moment, with Black Cats owner Ellis Short hoping to agree a deal that will see him sell the club.

One interested party headed by the Fulwell73 production company pulled out of the running yesterday, with talks with a German consortium remain ongoing and it is still hoped a deal could be finalised in the next few days.

An American group has also been involved in discussions, but it is the German group that is currently furthest advanced with its talks.

Until the takeover situation is resolved, Sunderland accept they will struggle to appoint a new manager – former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has once again been linked with the job - and as a result, it will be hard for them to make any new signings.

That said, however, they could well be interested in £1.5m-rated Derby defender Cyrus Christie, having looked to sign him in the past. The Rams have told the 24-year-old to look for a new club this summer.

OTHER CLUBS

Chelsea are close to signing Monaco midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko for £35m, reports the Daily Mail, a move that would allow Nemanja Matic to move north to Manchester United.

Bakayoko, 22, won Ligue 1 and reached the Champions League semi-finals to capture Antonio Conte's imagination and the Blues boss would listen to United offers for Serbian schemer Matic, once a title-winner under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

Kelechi Iheanacho could leave Manchester City if Craig Shakespeare's Leicester are successful with a £25m bid. The Daily Telegraph claim Iheanacho will be deemed surplus to requirements if City boss Pep Guardiola lands a world-class striker to play alongside Sergio Aguero and former Premier League champions Leicester would gladly take the 20-year-old to the King Power Stadium.

Staying with City, and the Etihad Stadium outfit are eager to complete a double swoop for right-backs Dani Alves and Kyle Walker over the next few days.

But while the Brazilian is in talks with Juventus over a mutual termination of his contract that would allow him to move to England, Walker looks likely to stay put as Tottenham stand firm on their £50m valuation, says the Independent.

The Liverpool Echo writes that Everton are willing to listen for offers for Oumar Niasse, who was successful during a loan spell with Hull but who looks to be persona non grata at Goodison Park.