Newcastle-linked 'superstar' winger will have active £68m release clause next summer

If Newcastle United can wait until next summer before singing a new right-winger then the perfect opportunity could present itself.

Newcastle fans have been frustrated by the fact that the club is still relying on pre-takeover signings Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy on the right wing.

While Eddie Howe has started to experiment with playing Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes on opposite flanks, it's no secret that both would rather be deployed on the left.

This summer the club's priorities were a right-sided central defender and a right-sided forward, neither of which were acquired. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your opinion, Miguel Almiron remained at the club.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Eberechi Eze's release clause kicks in again next summer

Newcastle could look to add to their squad in January to make up for their lack of summer signings, but if they can hold out until the summer for a right winger, they could do a bit of business that fans will love.

The Daily Mail has reported that Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze, who was linked with Newcastle, Arsenal and Tottenham this summer, will once again see his £68 million release clause become active next summer.

It's surprising that nobody activated it this year, but the clause has now ended. It will become active in the next summer window, however, and a deal of £60 million plus £8 million in add-ons must be accepted by Crystal Palace, although there's a belief that Palace could be open to negotiations.

Would Newcastle be that petty and go for Eze out of spite?

After how the negotiations with Crystal Palace went this summer over Marc Guehi, it could be tempting to just offer the clause amount to skip having to deal with Steve Parish again and ultimately take away one of his prize assets.

That's unlikely to happen, though, as both Palace and Newcastle maintain that the negotiations were friendly and they remain in contact and on good terms.

We're not sure Newcastle fans see it that way, though, and being able to take a 'superstar' like Eze away from Palace with them unable to do anything about it could satisfy a lot of fans' desire for revenge.

Of course, the issue would be convincing Eze to join Newcastle over Arsenal or even Spurs. We guess our final league position could come into play if Eze is listed as a possible target next summer.