Report: Newcastle are still keen on £40m defender linked with Manchester United move

Newcastle United could be set to battle Manchester United in the transfer window for £40million-rated defender.

According to The Mirror, Manchester United are ready to try once again to land £40million defender Jean-Claur Todibo from OGC Nice.

The 23-year-old has been on Erik ten Hag's wishlist for a while and was almost signed by the Red Devils in the summer but the deal collapsed after Harry Maguire's £30million move to West Ham fell through.

Newcastle are desperate for another centre-back right now

That gave hope to Eddie Howe who also has an eye on Todibo, and now with Sven Botman's mystery knee injury keeping the Dutchman out even longer, there could be a transfer battle on the horizon.

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The big question for Newcastle is whether they will stump up £40million on one player in January after making it abundantly clear in the summer that we were touching the limit of FFP.

Then there's the fact that Jim Ratcliffe is on his way into the Manchester United boardroom and is ready to throw money at the club. Not only does their increase in available spending pose a problem, but Mr Ratcliffe also happens to own Nice, so he may be able to grease the wheels for a potential move.

Both clubs are desperate for squad depth at centre-back but with the Ratcliffe-Nice connection, and Todibo's value, you'd imagine Newcastle will look elsewhere in January.

Todibo will likely end up at Man United so Eddie Howe should look at other options - Not Maguire

Newcastle will have several players in mind, and the Todibo links have been quiet of late so he may not be much of a priority anyway, but he would be a fantastic signing.

Hopefully, Todibo going to Man United doesn't mean Maguire comes to us. That's a merry-go-round we want no part of.

We reckon it's going to be mostly loans for us in January. Keeping those FFP overlords away, especially in light of what's just happened to Everton. Slow and steady wins the race.