Tottenham ace 'recommended' to Newcastle United as Middlesbrough 'hold talks' with ex-Magpies winger

That’s according to The Athletic, who claims Tottenham Hotspur’s Cameron Carter-Vickers and Schalke’s Ozan Kabak are among the names on Steve Bruce’s shortlist.

United could miss out on Norwegian international Ajer following stiff competition from Norwich City and Bayer Leverkusen, plus rumours of a reduced transfer budget.

Bruce has been made aware of Carter-Vickers by assistant coach Graeme Jones, who is said to have given the USA international a glowing review after working together at Luton Town and Bournemouth.

Meanwhile, a move for Kabak could be relaunched if Schalke lower their asking price, which is reportedly more than £18million.

The 20-year-old was very close to moving to Tyneside in January on a loan-to-buy deal before Liverpool swooped in at the last minute.

Arsenal’s William Saliba is also an option but that could depend on Joe Willock’s situation as Premier League rules state you can’t sign two players on loan from the same club.

Middlesbrough open talks with Sammy Ameobi – reports

Middlesbrough have opened talks with former Newcastle youngster Sammy Ameobi after his release by Nottingham Forest, Football Insider reports.

Ameobi, brother of Shola, enjoyed a brief loan spell at the Riverside Stadium in 2013 when he was still on the books at United.

He featured 70 times for Newcastle before joining Bolton Wanderers and then on to Forest.

Four years since leaving St James’s Park, the 29-year-old is reportedly in talks over a North East return with Neil Warnock’s Boro.