Newcastle United 'plotting' Brighton raid with two World Cup stars linked with January transfers

Newcastle United ‘target’ opens up on future at Leeds United as Dan Ashworth eyes Premier League alternative

Newcastle United’s interest in Leeds United winger Jack Harrison has cooled following a rejected summer bid as the Magpies now explore alternative options in the January transfer window. Harrison has scored just once in the Premier League for Leeds so far this season.

And a player of particular interest to Newcastle is Belgium and Brighton winger Leandro Trossard, who has scored seven goals in 14 Premier League appearances in 2022-23.

TEAMtalk claim Newcastle are showing the most interest in signing the 28-year-old although Graham Potter’s Chelsea are also keen. Trossard’s contract at the AMEX Stadium expires at the end of the current campaign meaning he could be available for a cut-price deal in January though Brighton are hoping to agree a one-year extension with the player in order to avoid that being the case.

Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth will be hoping to strike a deal with his former club this January. As for Harrison, his contract at Elland Road still has 18-month left to run with Leeds looking to agree an extension.

Speaking about his future, Harrison told LeedsLive: “I enjoy being here at the club, I love being here, I've been here a long time now and I'm almost part of the furniture here now.

“It's a great place to be, I'm happy to be here and I think my agent is coming over in the next month to sort something out with Victor [Orta, Leeds sporting director]. So we'll see what happens.”

Newcastle plotting Brighton & Hove Albion raid

In addition to Trossard, Newcastle are understood to be interested in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. The 21-year-old has recently been at the World Cup in Qatar with Ecuador.

The young midfielder has impressed during his breakthrough Premier League season with 14 appearances, scoring once. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims United are ‘following’ the player along with several top clubs but no negotiations are under way at the moment.

Director of Football breaks silence on Newcastle United target’s future following rejected bid

Vasco da Gama director of football Paulo Bracks hopes Newcastle United and Chelsea transfer target Andrey Santos will remain at the Brazilian club this season, but couldn’t ‘guarantee’ his future.

The 18-year-old has been of interest to Newcastle since the summer with a reported £17.5million bid turned down by Vasco da Gama, according to sources in Brazil.

Santos reportedly has a £35million release clause at Vasco and Newcastle face competition from Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona as well as Premier League rivals Aston Villa, Everton and now Chelsea.

There is plenty of speculation surrounding the teenager, which led Bracks to claim ‘the whole world wants Andrey’ in an interview.

Speaking to ESPN Brazil, Bracks said: “The whole world wants Andrey. But he’s from Vasco, he has a contract with us, a strong contract.

“He should go to a South American Under-20 championships [for Brazil], and I can’t guarantee what will happen to him.

“[I hope he] stays with us, this year, in this Serie A project of ours, but he is an athlete who, on the market shelf, is being very targeted.”