Report now says £70m Premier League player is keen on move to Newcastle this summer

Newcastle United could be about to break their transfer record again to land their primary summer target.

As reported on Friday, Newcastle have opened talks with Crystal Palace over a move for their 24-year-old England international centre-back Marc Guehi.

Guehi's name isn't new in terms of being linked to Newcastle, but things had been very quiet surrounding the Magpies' interest in the defender pretty much since the start of the summer when he was mentioned as almost a throwaway comment - sort of like he was on their list but not really.

Now with the new season looming very large on the horizon and several failed attempts to sign other players it seems that Newcastle are fed up with playing games and are ready to make their move.

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Guehi is keen on the move to Newcastle

Now, according to the The Times, Guehi would be open to the move to Newcastle, although there are thought to be other top Premier League sides circling.

Marc Guehi identified St James' Park as the best place to play in the Premier League and Anthony Gordon spoke highly of Guehi in the England camp, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he would make the switch.

The former Chelsea man is a top player and definitely of a Champions League standard, his performances at Euro 2024 showed that he's destined to play at the highest level, but having not tasted it at Crystal Palace, he'll not be craving it as much yet and therefore could be willing to wait another season to play in Europe's elite competition.

Newcastle could break their transfer record to sign Guehi

The big issue Newcastle face, really, is the asking price with Crystal Palace demanding £70 million with 20% of that going to Chelsea, who also have the right to match any accepted bid as part of the £18 million deal that saw Guehi head to Selhurst Park three years ago.

It's hardly a surprise. Most fans were expecting £60m-£65 million anyway. If the Magpies are serious they could just pay up rather than mess about trying to negotiate while other clubs wait in the wings.

It would be weird having our record signing being a defender, but given what he could bring to the side, we're all for it.