Newcastle fear another Chelsea hijack in their pursuit of Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike.
As talkSPORT reported on Monday, the Magpies are trying to wrap up a club-record deal for the £78million rated Eintracht Frankfurt frontman Ekitike.
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Sources close to Chelsea have confirmed Ekitike is on a list of potential targets in the event Nicolas Jackson is sold, which may explain why the Magpies have stepped up their interest.
The fact Ekitike is represented by agent Ali Barat is a cause for concern for Newcastle, given his relationship with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
Barat has already brokered numerous deals for Chelsea, including Moises Caicedo’s £115m move from Brighton in a then-British record transfer.
Ironically, Barat also represents Jackson, who the Club World Cup winners are willing to sell after snapping up Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
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Chelsea have already poached Pedro from the noses of Newcastle, the Brazilian opting to join the Blues despite the Magpies offering him a substantial offer to move to St James’ Park.
Nottingham Forest plot midfielder move
Nottingham Forest are among the Premier League clubs exploring a deal for Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz.
Former Aston Villa star Luiz is keen to return to England a year after his £50m move to Turin.
Ambitious Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis fancies the idea of bringing the Brazilian international to the City Ground.
A potential stumbling block is Luiz’s wage demands in excess of £100,000-a-week, which has already put off the likes of West Ham.
The 27-year-old played 175 Premier League games for Villa and helped them qualify for last season’s Champions League.
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Liverpool star too expensive for Hammers
West Ham face being priced out of a move for Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott.
The Hammers have held talks with Liverpool over England Under-21 hero Elliott, however, talkSPORT understands the Reds’ asking price of £40m-plus is likely to be too rich for the East Enders.
In fact recently-appointed head of recruitment Kyle McCauley has already started working on a list of alternative options.
These are thought to include Elliott’s Anfield teammate Tyler Morton and Manchester City’s James McAtee, although the latter is believed to favour a move abroad.
West Ham also have historic interest in want-away Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes.
Jurgen Klopp’s RB Leipzig and Newcastle are among the other clubs interested in Elliott, who enjoyed a stunning European U21 Championship campaign where he scored five goals in six games, including the final against Germany, to help England’s Young Lions to a second-successive title.
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Wolves insist star will stay
Wolves have promised manager Vitor Pereira that midfielder Andre will not be joining the summer exodus from Molineux.
Miracle-worker Pereira, who saved Wolves from relegation last season, has seen his squad decimated during this transfer window with departures of Matheus Cunha to Manchester United and Rayan Ait-Nouri to Manchester City.
Full-back Nelson Semedo is also a free agent having let his contract run down.
Influential Andre is wanted by Juventus, as well as by clubs in Spain, but Wolves have made it crystal clear to any interested parties that the Brazilian is off limits.
A senior Wolves official told talkSPORT Andre is ‘not for sale’ as he is seen as a player they can build Pereira’s team around.
