NEWCASTLE are interested in a summer deal for Hamza Choudhury, but with his transfer budget set to be extremely limited, Steve Bruce would ideally like to line up a loan deal for the Leicester City midfielder.

The Magpies came close to signing Choudhury in January, only for a long-term injury to Dennis Praet to force Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers to keep the 23-year-old at the King Power Stadium.

However, even with Praet sidelined, Choudhury managed just four Premier League starts in the whole of last season, and with the Foxes close to completing the £20m signing of Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, the former England Under-21 international is set to find himself shuffled even further down the pecking order in the next few weeks.

He is understood to be keen to move on this summer in an attempt to reignite his career, and Bruce is ready to rekindle the interest that was shelved at the start of the year.

However, while Leicester might well be keen to cash in on Choudhury, whose current contract is not due to expire until the summer of 2023, their valuation of their academy product might well make it difficult for Newcastle to pull off a deal.

Mike Ashley remains determined to try to push through the sale of the club this summer, and as a result, he will be keeping his transfer spending to an absolute minimum.

That will force Bruce to focus on the loan market, and the Newcastle boss will be doing all he can to persuade the Leicester hierarchy to agree to release Choudhury on a season-long loan.

Retaining Choudhury while allowing him to play elsewhere could be an appealing option for the Foxes, although if they do sanction a loan move, it is unlikely to be until the end of the transfer window, a situation that would not be ideal from Newcastle’s perspective.