NEWCASTLE UNITED’S resolve to keep hold of captain Jamaal Lascelles this summer could be seriously tested if the bidding hits the £45m mark after Tottenham entered the battle for his signature.

The Magpies are braced to receive substantial offers in the weeks ahead after learning Tottenham are seriously interested in competing with Everton for the centre-back.

Everton are ready to test the water with a £30m offer but that will not be enough for Newcastle to even consider.

Tottenham are looking to strengthen their defensive options and with Toby Alderweireld expected to be sold this summer then they will have even more money to spend on a replacement.

Spurs would certainly have the financial clout to offer somewhere near the £45m price-tag which could tempt Newcastle into a sale, and they would also be able to offer Champions League football; something neither Everton nor Chelsea, another suitor, can offer.

Lascelles has spoken recently of not holding any wish to leave St James’ Park, having established himself as one of the hottest defenders in the Premier League under Rafa Benitez.

The Newcastle manager has also indicated before that he is not looking to offload Lascelles, so there is certainly no drive to get a deal done to bring in the extra cash to help Benitez’s own recruitment push.

Benitez has shown over the course of his career that he is not afraid to sell players at the right price, provided he feels he can re-invest back into the squad he has at his disposal and get value for money in terms of replacements.

This summer is one in which the Spaniard is looking to improve the squad which finished tenth in its first season back in the top-flight, and he is in regular dialogue with managing director Lee Charnley over progress on the recruitment front.

Benitez has sought clarification over the size of the budget he will be handed and he would be pushing for more should the extra cash be brought in from player sales.

Lascelles is not one of those Newcastle are looking to sell but money talks these days, and history suggests Mike Ashley would have to listen to tempting offers for players like him.

Chancel Mbemba is a defender who is definitely available, with Anderlecht hoping to strike a deal for his services this summer. Florian Lejeune, after a decent first season at Newcastle following an £8.7m move from Eibar, is also known to be interesting Sevilla.

French full-back Massadio Haidara will definitely be on the move at the end of his contract and is closing in on a move to Lens – and that is before potential departures of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Henri Saivet and selected others come into the thinking.

Newcastle are known to have plenty of targets in mind to come in. Sassuolo defender Gian Marco Ferrari is one of the defenders on the radar and there are others under consideration.

It has also emerged from France in the last 24 hours that Newcastle have been in contact with Lille to discuss the possible signing of midfielder Thiago Maia.

The Brazilian, capped six times by his country’s Under 23s, only moved to the French club last summer from Santos for €14m so the asking price will be more than that.

Sources in France suggest that an initial Newcastle bid has been rejected for him from Newcastle.