Newcastle United eye £40m alternative to Marc Guehi but face competition from Bayer Leverkusen

Marc Guehi reportedly remains Eddie Howe's priority target to add youth and quality to Newcastle United's central defensive options, but the club are guarding against any form of repeat of last year's shenanigans.

Crystal Palace kept dragging Newcastle along with talks over a deal for Marc Guehi when they had no intention of making the deal, and while the Magpies have considerably more negotiating power this year thanks to Guehi's contract situation, they aren't willing to play silly games again.

Therefore, the Magpies have identified several other targets they could pursue, and it looks as though movement is already being made for one of those targets.

Bayer Leverkusen are, according to The Athletic, preparing a £40 million bid for Liverpool's Jarell Quansah, who is also said to be of interest to Newcastle.

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Newcastle are keen on Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez of Liverpool

Jarell Quansah is highly rated but can't displace Ibrahima Konate in Arne Slot's Liverpool first XI and, as such, is expected to leave Anfield this summer.

Newcastle made an enquiry for Quansah last summer, along with Joe Gomez, who also remains of interest to Eddie Howe.

However, Guehi remains the top target, and Newcastle believes that they can get a deal done for the Palace centre-back for the same money.

The Magpies have several other options if Marc Guehi doesn't work out

It looks as though Newcastle will have to scratch off another option if Leverkusen make their bid before Newcastle can gauge the temperature of a potential Guehi move.

It's also potentially a case that if Quansah leaves Liverpool, they will be reluctant to sell Joe Gomez as well, which could see another option taken off the board for the Magpies.

To be fair, based on the number of defenders we have been linked with in the past, we still have plenty more names on the list, so there's no need to panic.