Newcastle United now looking to sign Brighton star who had infamous run-in with Anthony Gordon

As Newcastle United and Brighton duelled it out for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals, Anthony Gordon got himself sent off in the dying embers of normal time.

A Brighton equaliser soon followed Gordon's dismissal, and then so too did extra time, in which Danny Welbeck struck to send Newcastle out of the cup.

Anthony Gordon's red card came as a result of a shove on Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke, which looked a lot worse than it actually was, but was still probably enough to warrant the red card and subsequent three-game ban.

Now, Newcastle could potentially reunite the pair as reports are now claiming that the Magpies have Jan Paul van Hecke in their sights for a summer transfer.

Newcastle are one of several clubs keen on Jan Paul van Hecke

TBR Football's Graeme Bailey has said that several Premier League clubs, along with Bayer Leverkusen are eyeing van Hecke, and Newcastle are among them.

Newcastle are shopping for centre-backs and van Hecke has been a strong player for Brighton since his move to the Seagulls in 2020.

The Boot Room's report does mention the Lloyd Kelly situation with Juventus seemingly sacrificing their season to avoid having to keep him which could see his return throw a wrinkle into Newcastle's transfer plans, however they suggest Newcastle will press on as if Kelly's sale is going to go through and deal with his return if it happens.

Sven Botman and Jan Paul van Hecke for club and country?

Jan Paul van Hecke is still only 24, so he has a few years to go before he hits his peak, which we're sure Eddie Howe can enable him to do, so he's not a terrible option for the Magpies.

Indeed, we expect he'd cost a lot less than we were willing to pay for Marc Guehi last year, and that's got to be a bonus.

Jan Paul van Hecke just broke into the Dutch national squad last year, too, and with Sven Botman heading back to fitness, the Dutch duo could forge a strong partnership at club and international level.

We're definitely in favour of this move, should he be available at the right price.