Newcastle now eyeing move for 'outstanding' German international who is available for free in summer

While it seems as though Newcastle United's transfer priorities have shifted more towards the top end of the pitch there is still a need to bring in defensive reinforcements.

indeed, Emil Krafth's latest injury has shone a light on the lack of options on the right side of defence while Jamaal Lascelles battles his way back from his ACL injury.

After failing to land Marc Guehi in the summer after a lengthy pursuit, it leaves Fabian Schar as the only right-sided centre-back we have available, so if he was to pick up an injury now we'd be back to fielding strange defensive line-ups like we were last season.

Newcastle have their eye on a possible recruitment for that spot, but given that he will be a free agent in the summer, they may wait and try their luck then, or at least see about signing a pre-contract agreement in January.

Jonathan Tah has said he will leave Bayer Leverkusen in the summer

The player in question is Bayer Leverksen's German international Jonathan Tah who has been hailed as 'outstanding' and 'one of the world's best defenders'.

The 28-year-old looked set to join Bayern Munich in the summer but the deal fell through and now he has stated that he will not be signing a new deal at Leverkusen, as a result, journalist Graeme Bailey has told Geordie Boot Boys he believes Newcastle could be interested in a move for Tah.

“He’s a fascinating one, and someone who is available on a free next summer.

“A lot of people in the game think he is one of the best centre-backs in Europe at the moment. He had a brilliant Euros for Germany.

“He was all set to join Bayern Munich in the summer, but then the deal didn’t happen.

“He’s back on the radar of a lot of clubs and I understand he will consider a move to the Premier League.

“Newcastle would be one of those clubs considering him. He would be a good option for Newcastle, even if he would not be a long-term solution to their problem.

“He’s a high calibre defender who a lot of Premier League clubs are taking notice of.”

Tah would be an excellent signing but we don't see it happening

With his contract due to expire in the summer, he's free to talk to clubs in January over a summer switch.

Naturally, there will be plenty of competition from several top clubs for his signature, so Newcastle will have to be fairly convincing.

However, given his age, we're not totally sure Newcastle will get involved with this one as their recruitment policy is to go for younger players, especially as the defender the club need to bring in must replace Fabian Schar long-term.