Newcastle United Transfer News: Magpies in talks with Man United over Jesse Lingard

With their hopes of finalising a £25m move for French youngster Hugo Ekitike beginning to stall, the Magpiers are making a renewed push to sign Lingard.

The England international is understood to have discussed his future with Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick this morning, outlining his desire to leave Old Trafford this month in order to improve his prospects of securing regular football.

However, while Lingard might be keen to move to Newcastle on loan, the Manchester United hierarchy have consistently said this month that they would prefer a sale rather than a loan.

Newcastle shelved their interest earlier this month when they were quoted a £10m loan fee, but the Magpies' negotiating team, led by director Amanda Staveley, have returned to the table in the hope of being able to thrash out an agreement that would be acceptable to all parties.

The situation is complicated by competing interest from West Ham, with the Hammers board also involved in discussions with the hierarchy at Old Trafford.

Lingard had a hugely successful loan spell at West Ham's London Stadium in the second half of last season.

Newcastle's deal for Ekitike is back in the balance - with the teenager reportedly unsure about the wisdom of joining the Magpies this month.

While Reims have accepted the Magpies' offer of around £25m for the 19-year-old, there's still work to be done to tie up the payment schedule and agree on potential add-ons which will be bolted onto the deal.

Those discussions are not expected to prove too problematic, but discussions with Ekitike and his representatives are currently proving much more difficult.

While Newcastle will be paying Ekitike substantially more than he's currently earning in Ligue 1, sources in France have suggested that the youngster still needs convincing that a move to a club in the bottom three of the Premier League is the right thing for this stage of his career.

Ekitike has never played for a club outside France, and only made his senior professional debut for Reims in October 2020.

Newcastle's other two incoming deals are progressing in a much more straightforward manner, with Dan Burn having agreed the personal terms of his return to the North-East.

Burn is set to sign a two-and-a-half year deal with Newcastle, with Brighton having agreed to accept £13m for his services.

Matt Targett has arrived at Newcastle's training ground for a medical, with the terms of a season-long loan from Aston Villa having now been finalised.