Newcastle looking towards Barcelona if £65m transfer doesn't come off

Whatever is actually going on behind the scenes as Newcastle United and Crystal Palace continue to lock horns over the sale of Marc Guehi, the Magpies need a Plan B.

Newcastle's attempts to land England centre-back Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace have thus far been fruitless. The Crystal Palace co-owner, Steve Parish has been running his mouth to the press this week which will no doubt have pissed off the Newcastle board as they like to get things done quietly.

Not only that but it appears as though Parish keeps moving the goalposts, almost as if his ego won't let him lose Guehi, he'd much rather look like an absolute weapon who is impossible to deal with than dent his pride.

Whatever the truth and whatever his reasons, the talks between the two clubs appear to be continuing despite reports suggesting that Newcastle's fourth bid is destined to fail.

Newcastle could save themselves a fortune by moving for Andreas Christensen

What Newcastle can't do is become all consumed by the idea of just one transfer. If it gets to the point where Newcastle have to walk away, then they're going to have to look elsewhere to fill the gap that Guehi was supposed to occupy.

One player Newcastle are reportedly looking at is Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen who would be expected to cost the Magpies considerably less than Guehi at around £23 million.

Indeed, Caught Offside believes that Newcastle have already made contact with Barcelona over Christensen suggesting that the club are becoming weary of Palace's games.

Christensen links to Newcastle are nothing new

Christensen has been on Newcastle's radar for a while and has already tried his hand at the Premier League with Chelsea, so at least he's not a foreign option coming in with no experience.

Something to think about, however, is if Newcastle fail to get this Guehi deal done, how is that going to reflect on Paul Mitchell? Guehi looked set to be his first big signing for the club and he's being taken for a ride by Steve Parish. Who wins if we walk away from the deal and who wins if we do the deal for more than we wanted to? These are no doubt the things that Mitchell will be worrying about now.

Also, let's not forget, that he's still got to go out and find us a right winger, please, and thank you. Whether Miguel Almiron stays or not.