Report suggests Newcastle United are ready to cash in on two fringe midfielders this summer

While the objective for Newcastle United's transfer team is clear - go forth and fetch us players - there is still plenty of scope for some outbound deals.

The core XI, except for maybe Nick Pope, can count themselves as pretty untouchable this summer, as Newcastle's aim is to add strength and depth to the main squad. It may mean that some within that core XI, and a couple of back-up players, may find themselves knocked down a peg, but they'll still be seen as important players.

Meanwhile, that shift in the pecking order will push those who were already struggling to break into Eddie Howe's starting lineup down a further peg, potentially into the 'unwanted' category.

Sean Longstaff's exit has been mooted for a while, and any fee we receive for him will be pure profit in the eyes of PSR, and thus will be a huge boost to the budget. Indeed, Longstaff was given a new deal at the club purely to preserve his valuation so that the club could reap some sort of fee for him this summer.

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Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock look set for Tyneside departures

Sean Longstaff may not be the only first-team midfielder to be moved on this summer, however, with former Arsenal man Joe Willock inching towards an exit.

The Daily Mail have reported that Crystal Palace still maintain an interest in the man Newcastle paid £25 million to Arsenal back in 2021.

The amount of times Newcastle fan accounts posted on social media "This his his chance to step up" or "Big game for Willock today" when he has found himself in the starting XI are too many to count, but given that those posts came with every start, suggests that he didn't show what he could do in each previous start - and we're not going to deny that Willock's form, in part due to some bad injuries, has dropped off a cliff.

Could Newcastle tempt Crystal Palace into a deal for Marc Guehi with Joe Willock?

We'd be amazed if we could recover our £25 million outlay on Willock given his lack of game time over the past couple of seasons.

Willock has the talent, and he's still not really hit his peak yet at just 25, but his injury history makes him a risk for any potential buyer, and that will drive down his valuation, even though there is definitely a player in there who is worth north of £25 million.

Given Palace's interest in Willock, it would make sense to us to use him as bait for a potential Marc Guehi switch. However, we're not transfer experts and we don't know how easy that would be to do ... it's a doddle on Football Manager, so surely it's just as easy in real life, right?