John Percy's Transfer Talk: Dwight Gayle offered on loan to Championship clubs but Newcastle demand £20 million after promotion
Newcastle are offering Dwight Gayle to Championship clubs on a “free” loan, but will demand a huge £20 million fee on promotion.
Gayle is a target for a number of promotion chasers including West Brom, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle are prepared to sanction a loan deal for the striker.
Newcastle will allow Gayle to go out without a loan fee but will insist that any club pays his £60,000 wages in full and agrees to the £20 million price if they reach the Premier League.
It is understood Newcastle want the fee of £20 million paying in two instalments of £10 million.
West Brom, meanwhile, remain in talks with young defender Nathan Ferguson over a new contract.
Ferguson could quit Albion and move abroad this month for a minimal compensation fee but the club are still hopeful of persuading him to sign.
Martin Olsson, the former Swansea and Norwich defender, is joining West Brom this week on trial in a bid to earn a short-term deal.
Leicester off Demiral chase
Brendan Rodgers is targeting the signing of a centre-half on loan this month, after abandoning his pursuit of Juventus defender Merih Demiral.
Turkey international Demiral will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury sustained in the game against Roma on Sunday, but it is understood Leicester had already moved onto other targets weeks ago.
Rodgers is keen to bring in a defender on loan for the remainder of the season, with his top targets then to be reassessed in the summer when clubs are more open to selling.
Leicester’s hunt for a new defender could prove crucial to the short-term future of Croatia international Filip Benkovic, who is wanted by Championship club Derby County.
Nampalys Mendy, Andy King and Bartosz Kapustka may also be loaned out, but Ghana international Daniel Amartey’s hopes of finding a new club have been damaged by an ankle injury.
Norwich raid the Bundesliga again
Norwich are signing attacking midfielder Lukas Rupp from Hoffenheim in their second deal of the January window.
Rupp was having a medical at Norwich’s training ground on Monday and is poised to sign for around £475,000.
The 29 year old has never played outside of the Bundesliga and counts Borussia Monchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart among his former clubs.
Norwich completed the signing of Slovakian attacking midfielder Ondrej Duda on loan from Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
Decision time for Nketiah
Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is poised to finally make a decision on his future this week.
Nketiah, the England under-21 international, has held talks with Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Forest after his loan spell at Leeds was ended early.
Aston Villa have been linked with a loan move for the 20 year old but it is understood he is not a target for the Premier League strugglers, who are targeting experienced forwards in this window.
Another loan on the cards for Tottenham's Jack Clarke
Tottenham Hotspur winger Jack Clarke is close to signing for Queens Park Rangers.
Clarke, 19, will join Rangers on loan after being cleared for another temporary move away from Spurs, following an unsuccessful return to Leeds. He is poised to make his debut against Leeds this weekend.
Second chance for Bennett
Mason Bennett is in talks over a new contract at Derby, four months after the infamous drink-driving incident.
Bennett and team-mate Tom Lawrence were fined six weeks’ wages by the club and banned from driving for their involvement in the car crash in September, after a booze-fuelled night out.
The 23 year old forward is out of contract at the end of this season but is close to committing his future to the Championship club.
