Newcastle United’s hopes of signing a title-winning midfielder this summer have taken a huge blow after being linked with him earlier this season.
Eddie Howe’s side are keen to add to their midfield ranks with a more defensive minded player, and it was discovered in January they may be in with a chance of signing Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich.
However, journalist Florian Plettenberg has now claimed that the ‘world class‘ midfielder will only be interested in signing for five clubs and Newcastle are not one of them.
Premier league rivals set to beat Newcastle this summer
Kimmich could have really transformed Newcastle’s squad this summer by bringing his title-winning experience over to the North East, teaching this group of players what it takes to win something.
Instead, it looks like Newcastle could now be beaten by a handful of their Premier League rivals with Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all options for the German midfielder.
It was always going to be a long shot, and especially impossible if Newcastle didn’t have Champions League football to offer him which is now out of their reach given their league position.
But those are the types of players who will really make the difference moving forwards, Newcastle just have to seek out the ones who are willing to buy into this long-term project and elevate the team.
On social media, Plettenberg said: “FC Bayern are indeed prepared to sell Kimmich this summer if a suitable offer comes in. Additionally, JK is not ruling out a move, and he is open to discussions with potential buyers! Still no concrete talks about a new contract beyond 2025.
“Only five top clubs are in consideration for Kimmich: Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Some of the mentioned five clubs have already contacted Kimmich!
A move to Manchester United, Chelsea, and Paris is not an option for him.”
Newcastle will have to offload a midfielder
It’s been a tough season for Howe who has at times only had three midfielders available to him, with one being just 17, and yet this summer Newcastle may be forced to move one of their options on.
The return of Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson has been a big boost to the squad, but they are still yet to welcome back Joelinton who has a long-term injury and Sandro Tonali who has been banned since October.
If Newcastle really want to bring in a new defensive midfielder this summer that would give them eight options, all of whom will think they are good enough to be starting for the team.
this could be a huge problem for Howe who won’t want to upset anybody in the dressing room and risk losing that positive atmosphere, so he’ll have to be ruthless and decided who he can afford to lose this summer.
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