NEWCASTLE

He might have nailed his colours to the Newcastle United mast earlier this week, but Jamaal Lascelles’ future continues to be the subject of considerable debate, with Liverpool being strongly linked with a summer move for the centre-half.

Jurgen Klopp is expected to strengthen his defence this summer, with Lascelles one of the players understood to be under consideration by the Anfield chief.

The Northern Echo:

Burnley’s James Tarkowski is another option, but having successfully introduced Virgil van Dijk to his backline during the current campaign, Klopp is leaning towards making a formal move for Lascelles with the intention of playing the two centre-halves together.

Lascelles has claimed he does not want to leave St James’ Park, but the lure of Champions League football is sure to appeal, and it would be interesting to see the Newcastle skipper’s reaction if Liverpool were to make a formal approach.

Lascelles was desperate to play in this summer’s World Cup, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Gareth Southgate might have treated him differently had he been playing for Liverpool rather than Newcastle last season.

The Magpies have no need to sell, but both Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley have always insisted that every player has their price, and the Newcastle hierarchy could find it difficult to turn down an offer of £30-40m.

Meanwhile, former Newcastle favourite Shola Ameobi could be nearing the end of his playing career after he was released by Notts County boss Kevin Nolan.


MIDDLESBROUGH

Adama Traore’s future is likely to be the subject of intense debate throughout the summer, with a host of clubs considering an approach for the winger.

Both Chelsea and Tottenham are long-standing admirers of the Spaniard, who blossomed spectacularly under Tony Pulis in the second half of last season, while a number of teams in La Liga are also understood to be extremely interested in the former Barcelona trainee.

Traore’s standing could rise even higher in the next few weeks as he has been lined up for a call-up to Spain’s pre-World Cup training squad.

The Northern Echo:

The 22-year-old has not been named in Julen Lopetegui’s final 23-man squad for Russia, but Spain have a warm-up game against Switzerland on June 3 and will be unable to call on any of the Real Madrid players that are involved in this weekend’s Champions League final against Liverpool.

As a result, Lopetegui is expected to promote up to seven young players into the senior squad to face the Swiss, and having featured for the Under-21s earlier this year, Traore could be one of the youngsters who finds himself making a senior debut.

That would make him even more of a desirable option – particularly to teams in La Liga – and while Middlesbrough will be understandably reluctant to lose him, he could command the kind of price tag that would be extremely difficult for a Championship club to turn down.


SUNDERLAND

How many players will Sunderland be signing this summer? That will depend on how many players leave, but with new owner Stewart Donald determined to get rid of some of the club’s highest-earners, it is conceivable that a new manager could find himself having to make more than a dozen signings before the transfer window closes.

Donald has bullishly predicted that Sunderland will have the biggest budget in League One next season, and they might well need it given the scale of the changes that are envisaged.

The likes of Papy Djilobodji, Didier Ndong and Wahbi Khazri will be leaving permanently having spent last season away from Wearside on loan, and the Black Cats will also look to sell Lamine Kone and Lee Cattermole given their wages are far higher than the average for League One.

Jack Rodwell’s future remains uncertain, but whatever happens with the midfielder, Sunderland’s new boss will almost be starting from scratch as he looks to assemble a squad for the new campaign.

Who is that new boss going to be? Jack Ross and Michael Appleton remain the front runners in the race to succeed Chris Coleman, and Donald is expecting an answer from the former in the next 48 hours.

The Northern Echo: Alloa boss Jack Ross

Ross is expected to leave his current post at St Mirren this summer, but the Scotsman has also held talks with Championship club Ipswich Town and remains a strong favourite to take over at Portman Road.