NEWCASTLE UNITED

FINALLY Newcastle have landed their man. It was confirmed this morning that Florian Lejeune has completed his £8.7m move from Eibar to St James’ Park.

It has taken long enough to secure, but at least it has been done. Now the challenge for Newcastle is to follow that up with more.

Hull City’s Polish winger Kamil Grosicki has been mentioned strongly, with Rafael Benitez considering a wide-range of options to boost his squad before the Premier League season kicks off.

There are two other fresh names being scouted by Newcastle too – and one is the Brazilian Cafu!

Jonathan Cafu has caught the eye of a number of clubs with his performances from Ludogorets and is said to be interesting Newcastle and Brighton, after both clubs gained promotion last season.

A younger player being monitored is Welsh prospect George Wilson. It is being reported in his homeland that the Coventry City winger is wanted by a long list of clubs, including the Magpies.

Thomas is out of contract at the Ricoh Arena but compensation would be due as he is under age of 24. He was impressive for the Sky Blues when he made 36 appearances last season.

MIDDLESBROUGH

Garry Monk takes his players to Portugal on Sunday and hopes to have at least one new player on board before the plane flies.

And, as well as looking at Norwich midfielder Jonny Howson and Nottingham Forest’s Britt Assombolonga, it has emerged Monk has joined the battle to land Reading full-back Chris Gunter.

The Boro boss is keen to add Championship experience and Gunter provides plenty of that. There is competition for him from Aston Villa, Leeds and Swansea City.

It has been suggested Gunter has a £1m release clause in his contract which has alerted many, and if he is to move on he would be looking to be a regular in the right-back role.

There is also fresh talk of Middlesbrough’s interest in Cyrus Christie, with suggestions from the Midlands that Derby have knocked back an offer from the Teessiders.

SUNDERLAND

Simon Grayson is concentrating on getting to know his new players in Austria ahead of Friday’s pre-season opener with Bury.

But he is being kept informed about any developments on the transfer front, with Preston striker Jordan Hugill and Everton winger Aiden McGeady two of his leading targets to start off with.

An interesting development is that Grayson wants to team up again with Howson. The Canaries midfielder, who left Elland Road in 2012, was at Leeds with the Black Cats boss and has already made his interest known in him.

The 29-year-old accepts it could be the time to move on this summer and the prospect of playing under Grayson again is said to appeal. 

There is also interest from Grayson in Sheffield Wednesday defender Tom Lees and the chances of signing him could actually be helped by Newcastle United.

The Owls have identified Grant Hanley as one of the defensive contenders to sign this summer and if he was to arrive then that could help the Black Cats if they decide to push on with a formal Leeds bid.

Grayson, like Monk, is clearly keen to bring in players who he knows can adapt and attack the Championship from the first weekend.

OTHER CLUBS

West Ham are keen to bring former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez back to the Premier League.

The 29-year-old has a year remaining on his contract with Bayer Leverkusen and has a £13m release clause in that deal. Hernandez scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga last season and Leverkusen have yet to make any moves in extending his contract, giving further encouragement to the Hammers.

Chelsea are prepared to pay a club-record £60m fee to bring Juventus left-back Alex Sandro to Stamford Bridge.

The Serie A champions want to renew the contract of the defender but the Blues are willing to improve on that and are happy to meet the valuation of the 26-year-old. Paris St Germain are also interested in Sandro and Chelsea are waiting to discover if the full-back has the desire to move to England.

Everton are confident of striking a deal to see Wayne Rooney return to Goodison Park. Manchester United's record goalscorer has dropped down the pecking order at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho and Rooney could now follow Davy Klaassen, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane in joining the Toffees.

The 31-year-old still has a year remaining on his contract with the Red Devils but Ronaldo Koeman's side remain confident a deal can be made.

United boss Mourinho wants Alvaro Morata and Nemanja Matic to join the club before the end of the week. United head off on a pre-season tour of the United States on Sunday and Mourinho wants both players to be on the plane for the trip.

Defender Victor Lindelof is the only new arrival at Old Trafford so far as Chelsea are waiting to finalise a deal for Monaco's Tiemoue Bakayoko before allowing Matic to leave and Morata's move is held up by Real Madrid's interest in United goalkeeper David De Gea.

Crystal Palace have been put off by a £30m asking price for Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho. New Eagles boss Frank de Boer believes he can bring in up to five players for the combined cost of the Frenchman and the Merseyside giants are refusing to drop their valuation.