NEWCASTLE UNITED are hoping to prise Christian Eriksen from Brentford as one of their flagship pieces of summer transfer business.

Eriksen’s return to action at Brentford’s Community Stadium has provided one of the feelgood stories of the season, with the 30-year-old having proved his wellbeing after he had an implantable cardioverter defribrillator fitted in the wake of his cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.

The midfielder has claimed a goal and an assist during his five Premier League appearances to date, and has also made a successful return to Denmark’s national team, with his performances alerting clubs right across the continent to his availability this summer.

Eriksen signed a short-term deal to the end of the season when he agreed to join Brentford in January, and while Bees boss Thomas Frank has openly confirmed his desire to re-sign the Dane on a more permanent basis, Brentford will find it hard to hold on to him.

Tottenham, Everton and West Ham have all been linked with a summer move, but Newcastle officials are growing increasingly hopeful of being able to beat off competition from their Premier League rivals in order to seal a deal of their own.

With his side’s top-flight survival now all but guaranteed, Eddie Howe is beginning to firm up his plans for the forthcoming transfer window. Newcastle’s Saudi Arabia-based backers will continue to provide strong financial assistance, but as was the case during the January window, Howe and the rest of the Magpies’ recruitment team will not be issued with a blank cheque.

Newcastle’s hierarchy are mindful of the need to adhere to the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play regulations, so the opportunity to sign an established international such as Eriksen on a free transfer would be especially appealing.

The Magpies will offer the midfielder a significant increase on his current wages at Brentford, and will be willing to match or better any other offer Eriksen receives from his other Premier League suitors.

Whether that proves sufficient to lure him to Tyneside remains to be seen, but Newcastle director Amanda Staveley will attempt to sell a vision of a club with achievable ambitions of challenging for a place in the top six in the next couple of seasons if she gets an opportunity to speak directly to Eriksen and his representatives.

Her pitch persuaded Bruno Guimaraes to swap a European battle with Lyon for a place in a Magpies squad battling against relegation in January, with the Brazilian’s willingness to move to St James’ Park set to be held up in other discussions this summer as proof that Newcastle can attract some of the world’s leading players.

As well as preparing to push for Eriksen, Newcastle have also been heavily linked with a possible move for Brighton forward Leandro Trossard in the last couple of weeks.

Trossard has just over a year left on his current deal at the Amex Stadium, and Brighton officials might well be prepared to cash in on the 27-year-old this summer rather than run the risk of him running down his contract and leaving for nothing 12 months later.

Trossard has made 99 appearances since joining Brighton from Genk in 2019, and has developed into a key part of Graham Potter’s first-choice line-up.

With Dan Ashworth set to be confirmed as Newcastle’s new director of football once his gardening leave following his departure from Brighton is completed, the Magpies will hardly lack for a direct line to the power-brokers at the Amex Stadium this summer.

Newcastle return to action when they host Leicester City on Sunday, with the Foxes also in action tomorrow evening when they take on PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final.

Meanwhile, Newcastle midfielder Mo Sangare is currently on trial at Championship side Blackpool.

Sangare, who will become a free agent at the end of this season, played for Blackpool Under-23s as they lost to Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Lancashire Senior Cup on Monday.