Newcastle United rebuffed chance to sign England U21 defender at start of window - Could be time to reconsider
It has been claimed that Newcastle United were offered the chance to sign Charlie Cresswell at the start of January but turned down the offer.
The claims have been downplayed by the club, but the 23-year-old Toulouse defender is still on the market.
Newcastle's thinking at the time was that they were looking well in defence, with Dan Burn's recovery going well and Sven Botman close to a return at the time.
Botman is now back, and Burn remains on track, but the Magpies have now lost Fabian Schar for what is expected to be a lengthy absence.
Charlie Cresswell kept Nick Woltemade quiet in the U21 Euros final in the summer
Whether or not Newcastle is going to dip into the market to cover for Schar's injury is still the big question. Eddie Howe hasn't ruled it out, but it feels like they are waiting on the full story on Schar's injury before making any kind of decision.
West Ham are thought to be keen on Charlie Cresswell, who starred for England U21s in the summer as they retained the European Championships. He even managed to keep Nick Woltemade quiet in the final.
Cresswell is valued at around £13 million according to The Chronicle, though it's believed that it may take £20 million to pry the defender away from Toulouse in January.
Charlie Cresswell would be a superb signing for Newcastle
We feel it may be worth Newcastle getting back on the blower to the intermediaries who approached them about Cresswell and seeing if there isn't a deal to be worked out for the former Leeds United man.
Cresswell is an immense talent, and while Newcastle are looking at younger players to bring in, he's not exactly wizened at 23 and can still improve massively under Eddie Howe.
Unfortunately, we don't see Newcastle actually making a move for Cresswell, but to us he'd be the perfect signing to fix the Fabian Schar problem short-term, and would be handy to have in the squad given Sven Botman's injury problems too. If we're letting Jamaal Lascelles go this month, then surely bringing in Charlie Cresswell is a no-brainer.
