'Talks ongoing': Journalist now says Newcastle are 'keeping their pressure' to sign 28-year-old

It's day eight of the January transfer window and Newcastle United still have no new faces in the door.

Eddie Howe is expecting several of his top players to return from injury during January, in which there is a nice little two-week break with no football, but players returning from injury aren't new signings and that's what fans want to see.

While we always used to slate Alan Pardew for saying players coming back from injury were like new signings, in this case, given the length of the absences, it will actually feel like that's the case.

Newcastle and Man City still haven't reached an agreement

Still, Newcastle's lack of squad depth has now been exposed and that Magpies need to do something about it.

One player who is expected to be a Magpie by the end of the month is Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips who, despite reports in December, very much has no already agreed the move.

In fact, journalist Rudy Galetti has said on X that Newcastle and Manchester City still haven't reached an agreement but Newcastle are pushing.

"Newcastle are keeping their pressure to sign Phillips. Talks ongoing between #NUFC and #ManCity for a loan transfer. Kalvin is keen to join the Magpies, especially in view of Euro2024."

A move would greatly benefit Phillips

Phillips has reportedly been told by Gareth Southgate that his place in the England squad is in jeopardy if he's not playing first team football. Why it has taken him so long to come to this conclusion is anyone's guess.

We do rate Phillips but we also have some concerns about the move, namely, he's been so underused by Pep Guardiola that it may take him some time to get his match sharpness back. Although, in fairness, he's never really looked to be lacking when he has played for City or even England, it's just a case of can he do it regularly?

The other issue is the mental fee that City wants for the deal, reportedly between £5million and £7million just for a loan. It does seem like there's a chance this one could happen, but as for how long it takes, that's up to City.