NEWCASTLE UNITED have made formal approaches for both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Max Kilman as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season.
But the Magpies are also listening to offers for Yankuba Minteh and are ready to offload Callum Wilson as they make major summer changes.
Having already completed the signing of free agent Lloyd Kelly, Newcastle’s recruitment team are hoping to push through a series of deals ahead of the accounting deadline for the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations at the end of this month.
Their interest in Calvert-Lewin has led to a series of formal discussions with the Everton hierarchy, and there is hope on Tyneside that a deal can be concluded this week.
The 27-year-old striker is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract at Goodison Park, and while Everton have made a series of offers, Calvert-Lewin has so far refused to sign a new deal on Merseyside.
He is understood to have reservations about the direction of his current club, who are still attempting to engineer a successful takeover, and is interested in the prospect of moving to St James’ Park.
Newcastle have rated Calvert-Lewin highly for a number of seasons, and have considered making a move for the England international on a number of occasions in the past.
The hope, now, is that they can push through a cut-price deal for Calvert-Lewin, who was rated at around £35m when he was at the peak of his powers with Everton.
Calvert-Lewin has scored 68 goals in 247 appearances for the Toffees since making his senior debut in 2016, but while he has won 11 senior England caps, his last couple of seasons have been blighted by a series of injury issues.
He was fit for most of last season, however, and scored four goals in the final seven games of the campaign as Everton successfully clambered to safety.
Newcastle’s interest in Calvert-Lewin casts major doubt over Wilson’s future on Tyneside, with the 32-year-old also about to enter the final year of his current contract.
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While Eddie Howe remains a firm fan of the veteran forward, there is a growing acceptance that FFP regulations mean it makes little sense to retain Wilson for another season if that will mean allowing him to leave for nothing in 12 months’ time.
Wilson missed large sections of last season because of injury problems, and there is now an extremely good chance that Newcastle will look to cash in this summer. A move to the Saudi Arabian Pro League, which was touted as a potential option for Wilson for January, remains a viable scenario.
Newcastle’s interest in Kilman stems from their desire to sign another centre-half this summer. While Kelly has completed his move from Bournemouth, missing out on Tosin Adarabioyo, who turned down an offer from the Magpies in order to join Chelsea, means the Newcastle hierarchy still feel they are a central defender short with Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles both set to miss the early weeks of next season because of cruciate-ligament injuries.
Senior Newcastle officials have held talks with their counterparts at Molineux, and have reportedly made an offer that involved both a cash sum and a potential switch to the Midlands for homegrown midfielder Elliot Anderson.
However, an agreement has not been reached, and negotiations are set to continue in the next 24 hours with West Ham also attempting to engineer a deal. The Hammers are understood to have had a £25m bid for Kilman rejected at the end of last week.
Kilman was an ever-present for Wolves last season, and his experience at Premier League and potential for further improvement are key factors in Newcastle’s ongoing interest.
However, Wolves turned down a £30m bid from Napoli for Kilman last year, and while they are likely to have to sell to fund investment into Gary O’Neil’s squad this summer, they would ideally like to hold on to one of their key defenders. The situation is also complicated by the hefty sell-on clause that non-league Maidenhead inserted into the deal that took Kilman to Molineux for just £40,000 in 2018.
Newcastle need to make sales of their own this summer, and Minteh appears to have been identified as the prime candidate to be offloaded in order to generate funds that can be reinvested.
The 19-year-old winger joined Newcastle last summer in a deal worth around £6m, but is set to be sold for around £40m without having played a single senior game for the Magpies. Minteh impressed during a season-long loan move with Feyenoord last season, where he helped the club win the Dutch Cup.
Everton have been touted as a possible destination parties, but at this stage, the strongest interest in Minteh is coming from abroad, with Roma, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille all known to have conversations over the teenager.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Minteh’s agent, Bakary Bojang, said: “It is correct that Newcastle are willing to sell the player if they receive a good offer. From our side, if Newcastle wants to sell and the sporting project is good, we will definitely look at it.
“We are in communication with some clubs. I can’t confirm clubs who are in communication with us. We have agreed terms with one of the clubs, so now the rest is with Newcastle.”
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