NEWCASTLE
Newcastle United’s transfer log-jam could finally be broken in the next couple of days, with Fulham keen to push through their £20m purchase of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Fulham are keen to have Mitrovic back within their squad next week as they step up their preparations for a return to the Premier League, and Newcastle are ready to sign off their discussions with the Cottagers.
Fulham will pay around £20m for Mitrovic, who scored 12 goals in 17 appearances during a loan spell at Craven Cottage in the second half of last season.
Rafael Benitez confirmed he has to ‘sell to buy’ when he spoke to the media at Newcastle’s pre-season training camp in Ireland this week, and the Magpies manager will hope Mitrovic’s departure will finally enable him to bring in a new centre-forward.
Salomon Rondon is the likeliest arrival, although the Newcastle hierarchy remain reluctant to trigger the £16.5m relegation release clause in the 28-year-old’s contract.
Newcastle offered West Brom £4m to take Rondon on a season-long loan last week, but their approach was immediately rejected.
Further talks have taken place though, and if Mitrovic’s departure goes through, Newcastle’s recruitment will look to put together a permanent package for the Venezuela international.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have put Sean Longstaff’s proposed loan move to Portsmouth on hold, with Benitez keen to take a closer look at the midfielder during the rest of the pre-season programme. Longstaff scored Newcastle’s opening goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic.
SUNDERLAND
Sunderland will have to meet Cheltenham Town’s £1.5m asking price if they are to sign Mohamed Eisa, with the Robins having rejected the Wearsiders’ initial offer for the striker.
Sunderland lodged a bid of around £1m for Eisa on Monday night, but Cheltenham are demanding at least £1.5m before they will allow the Sudanese forward to leave.
Peterborough have had a bid of £1m turned down, and Cheltenham officials have also rejected a similar offer from Portsmouth.
They are confident their asking price will be met, with sources in the South-West suggesting that an unnamed Championship club have also expressed an interest in Eisa, who scored 25 goals last season.
Cheltenham are keen to have the situation resolved within the next 48 hours, so Sunderland will have to move quickly if they are to land one of Jack Ross’ leading attacking targets.
Ross is also keen to recruit Charlie Wyke, but Sunderland have been unable to agree a deal with Bradford City for the Middlesbrough-born striker.
Sunderland lodged an offer of around £600,000 for Wyke, but with Bolton Wanderers also involved in discussions, Bradford are yet to decide on their next move. The Bantams have offered Wyke a new deal at Valley Parade, but he looks likely to move on rather than remain with his current employers.
Sunderland are more confident of tying up a deal for Reading midfielder George Evans, and are also hoping to finalise the departure of Didier Ndong in the next few days.
MIDDLESBROUGH
Tony Pulis will reassess his full-back options in the wake of Fabio da Silva’s £2m move to French club Nantes.
Fabio completed his departure from the Riverside yesterday, with Boro accepting Nantes £2m offer rather than run the risk of the Brazilian leaving for nothing next summer.
His exit is hardly a surprise given that he was close to leaving in January, but it has left Pulis short of options at full-back.
George Friend and Ryan Shotton are really the only natural full-backs within the Boro squad, although Pulis could also opt to play Ben Gibson, Dael Fry or Paddy McNair in a wide position.
Alternatively, he could dip into the transfer market to recruit another defender, with Joe Bryan a long-term target.
Bryan has been linked with a possible move to Teesside this summer, although Bristol City’s £10m asking price would represent a major stumbling block. Boro would want that price to come down significantly before they agreed to a deal.
Meanwhile, Yeovil Town are hoping to re-sign Lewis Wing, having had the winger on a loan spell at Huish Park last season.
Wing scored a late consolation goal as Boro suffered a 2-1 defeat to Augsburg in their latest pre-season outing on Wednesday night.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here