Exclusive: Newcastle United interested in Chelsea quartet including Christian Pulisic
Newcastle United have asked to be kept informed about a quartet of Chelsea players who could be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge before the close of the transfer window.
Telegraph Sport understands that as well as Conor Gallagher, Newcastle have also asked about USA international Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson Odoi who, they suspect, could be loaned out this month.
Newcastle have a longstanding interest in Chelsea striker Armando Broja, but would only be able to sign one Chelsea player on loan and do not have the money to do multiple permanent deals due to the strict budget constraints imposed on manager Eddie Howe.
Chelsea have made a formal bid for Everton forward Anthony Gordon this week - a player Newcastle expressed a short interest in last month - and there is a widespread belief within football circles that several players at Stamford Bridge will be offloaded in the last few days of the window.
That is one of the reasons why Newcastle have been keeping their powder dry as they look to add desperately needed attacking reinforcements. Howe has always maintained they would look to make loan signings late in the window and it seems Chelsea are the main source of their interest.
Members of the Newcastle hierarchy, including director of football Dan Ashworth, have been in contact with senior figures at Chelsea and have asked to be informed immediately if they decide to let any of the above leave west London.
Newcastle’s main problem with landing their first choice targets this summer has been down to wage demands as well as limited transfer funds. Despite being labelled the richest club in the world because of the vast wealth of majority stakeholders, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the club is wrestling with Financial Fairplay rule.
The slow progress in landing new sponsorship deals following the takeover last October, has also hampered recruitment in the regime’s first summer transfer window.
Newcastle have tried and failed to sign several players in the last couple of months -privately as well as publicly - because of the budget issues and their inability to offer European football.
Sweden international Aleksandar Isak was a priority target at the end of last season, but the club scrapped plans to sign the player when Real Sociedad insisted they would have to activate the player’s release clause of £76m and pay the 22-year-old in excess of £200,000-a-week.
That is also a potential stumbling block with loan moves too. Both Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi earn considerably more than Newcastle’s current top earner, Kieran Trippier, who is on just over £100,000-a-week on Tyneside.
That means Chelsea would have to cover a large percentage of the wages of both players if they were sent on loan to the North East, which could make them reluctant to do so.
Newcastle had a £17.5m bid for Watford forward Joao Pedro turned down this week after also failing with two offers for Leicester’s James Maddison earlier this month. They are currently weighing up whether to make an improved offer for Pedro.
The Magpies are keen on structuring deals in a buy now, pay later fashion, which has put clubs off dealing with them.
For example, the £40m plus bid for Maddison only offered Leicester £20m up front this summer, which was nowhere near attractive enough to the Midlands club to sell one of the key creative players.
Newcastle had a strong start to the window and have completely changed their defence this year with two new centre backs, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, as well as full backs Trippier and Matt Targett, joining goalkeeper Nick Pope in a new look backline.
But Howe insisted the need for better attacking players was the priority at the end of last season and the club have, so far, been unable to bring any in during this window.
