Jesse Lingard has re-emerged as one of Newcastle United’s main deadline day targets as the proposed move for Hugo Ekitike is becoming increasingly complicated.
Reims were reported to have accepted a bid of between £20m and £25m for the young French striker but the player is unsure of making such a significant move at just 19 years of age.
Eddie Howe clearly wants further attacking reinforcements before the transfer window closes and Lingard now looks to be top of his wishlist.
READ MORE: Newcastle United pushing for Jesse Lingard deal in deadline day finale
However, a move for the Manchester United midfielder isn’t exactly straightforward.
Ralf Rangnick gave Lingard his blessing to leave the club on loan until the end of season which is, incidentally, when his contract expires.
For that reason, it would be a significant loan fee that Newcastle would have to pay.
The Magpies are not alone in their 11 th -hour pursuit of the England international though as West Ham are also said to be negotiating with Manchester United to bring him back to the London Stadium.
Lingard, of course, spent the second half of last season with the Hammers and was mightily impressive before returning to Manchester United where has struggled for game time.
At the moment, Newcastle and West Ham are almost neck and neck in the race for his signature although, there are a handful of other Premier League clubs who might also be looking into a potential deal.
With Sky Bet, David Moyes’ side are very slight favourites to sign him at 11/8 while the Magpies are 6/4. The next most likely outcome according to the bookmakers is that Lingard will stay at Old Trafford but at 5/2, a move somewhere looks very likely.
Further down the odds list, his other potential suitors are as follows: Everton (20/1), Aston Villa (28/1), Leicester (28/1), Tottenham (28/1) and AC Milan (33/1).
It leaves a tense, or exciting, wait to see where the 29-year-old will spend the second half of the campaign.
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