Newcastle United transfers: 25-year-old set to leave as Magpies press to complete £30m deal

Here is a round-up of the latest Newcastle United stories from the opening day of the summer transfer window…

Newcastle United’s Freddie Woodman in talks to secure loan exit to Preston

Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman could be making a return to the Championship on loan with reports that the 25-year-old could be on his way to Preston North End.

Football Insider claim that The Lilywhites have opened talks to sign Woodman on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

After making four Premier League appearances for Newcastle at the start of the 2021-22 season, Woodman spent the second half of the campaign on loan at AFC Bournemouth.

But he failed to make a league appearance as The Cherries secured promotion back to the Premier League.

The goalkeeper previously enjoyed two successful seasons on loan at Swansea City in the second tier between 2019 and 2021. And it appears his future is away from Tyneside as he has just one year remaining on his current deal at United.

Newcastle pressing to complete Botman deal

Newcastle have submitted a third bid to sign Lille defender Sven Botman, according to The Express.

The offer is reported to be in excess of £30million for the 22-year-old. The Magpies attempted to sign the centre-back in January but were unable to reach an agreement with Lille.

Reports from Italy claim that a fee has been agreed between Newcastle and Lille but the defender favours a move to Serie A side AC Milan – who may struggle to meet Lille’s valuation.

Botman is currently away on international duty with Netherlands under-21s and is hoping to have his future sorted within the next week.

Miguel Almiron scores brace for Paraguay against South Korea

Newcastle midfielder Miguel Almiron scored twice for Paraguay as they drew 2-2 in an international friendly match against South Korea on Friday.

Some tenacious closing down saw the 28-year-old win possession on the edge of the Korea penalty area before coolly finding the bottom right corner of the goal to give Paraguay a first-half lead.

Almiron doubled the visitor’s advantage shortly after the restart with a fine curling finish from 20-yards to complete a quick counter-attacking move.

It was Almiron’s first brace for his country but it wouldn’t be enough to secure victory as South Korea mounted a second-half comeback with Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min reducing the deficit before Jung Woo-young equalised in stoppage time as the game ended 2-2.

Almiron has been linked with a potential move away from Newcastle this summer after being a bit-part player in the Premier League last season.

But the player’s agent, Daniel Campos, claims the Almiron will remain at ‘the best club in the world’ despite previously stating that his client has a £58million release clause in his Newcastle contract.

“He is at the best club in the world. He is happy with prominence; I don’t see any possibility of change now,” Campos told Versus Radio on Universo 970 [translated from Spanish].

“They are going to change everything, structure, youth, women’s soccer, everything is going to change.”