Newcastle set to seal £16.7m deal but one signing is ‘hard to imagine’

Joe Williams
Newcastle-linked Niklas Sule heads the ball away

Newcastle United are on the verge of sealing a deal for Bayer Leverkusen left-back Mitchel Bakker while a deal for another defender is looking unlikely, according to reports.

The Magpies have brought in Chris Wood from Burnley and Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window as they look to transform their team.

Eddie Howe’s side are embroiled in a relegation battle still, despite their 1-0 victory over Leeds United at the weekend, with the Geordies sitting 18th and one point from safety.


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And recent reports suggest that defence is one of the main areas that they are trying to improve before the end of the transfer window, with Sevilla’s Diego Carlos heavily linked.

Another name that keeps coming up is Bakker at Bayer Leverkusen with the Daily Telegraph insisting yesterday that a move will ‘definitely not happen’.

However, Italian publication TuttoMercatoWeb have claimed today that a deal for Bakker is only ‘one step’ away for Newcastle after failing to sign Robin Gosens from Atalanta.

The report adds that the situation ‘seems to have changed fast’ with Newcastle honing in on their third signing of the winter window.

The Premier League side have made an offer of €20m (£16.7m) for Bakker, which would represent a good profit for Leverkusen who paid Paris Saint-Germain €7m (£5.8m) for him in the summer.

One player unlikely to be heading to St James’ Park this winter is Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule despite turning down a new contract with the Bavarians.

Bild (via Sport Witness) claims that there has been a ‘decision made’ by Sule in which he has decided to turn down Bayern’s improved €10m-a-year offer.

The German newspaper insist that Newcastle are one club ‘interested’ in the centre-back, who has made 158 appearances for the Bundesliga champions since moving from Hoffenheim in 2017.

But another German publication, TZ, insist it is ‘hard to imagine’ Sule swapping Bayern for Newcastle, even if they stayed in the Premier League and ‘throw money’ at him in the summer transfer window.

Meanwhile, speaking about potential recruitment before the window shuts, Eddie Howe recently said: “I’ve always said from day one I back the players we have, regardless of who we recruit.

“But I think today [against Leeds] you saw the power of recruitment. Looking at Chris Wood and Kieran Trippier, I thought they were magnificent for the team.

“They made huge contributions to the match and that’s the power. If you can get it right I think you can elevate the team and help the team to greater heights.

“We’re still looking to do that, but I do back the players that we have here already.”