Newcastle eye two big signings as Villa chase Tammy Abraham return
Eddie Howe wants two top notch starting XI’s to challenge in Europe and domestically next season.
The Newcastle United boss will bolster his squad in the summer with up to £70m in extra income likely to be incoming from a likely Champions League campaign. They have various positions to strengthen with right wing, right sided midfield, centre back and left back positions all being looked at.
The Toon have been heavily linked with players including Dominik Szoboszlai, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Khephren Thuram, James Maddison, and James Ward-Prowse as they finalise their key targets for the summer.
Newcastle will be in the Champions League next season if they beat Leicester on Monday night, and that will bring more intense games.
Asked how United will cope, Howe said: “It's a good question. We need to figure that out. If you're going to do that, then the squad needs to be strong enough, so if you put out two XIs, they're of equal strength.
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“If you have a strong squad, rotation will be important - utilising the whole squad is going to be important
“We haven't felt the necessity to necessarily do that on a consistent basis this season because we've been in one competition – of course, we had the cup run. We have rotated to a degree, but not in the numbers that we might need next year.”
By Simon Bird
Newcastle have been linked with James Maddison (Getty Images)Villa want Abraham return
Aston Villa are set to push ahead with plans to sign Tammy Abraham if they qualify for Europe.
Roma striker Abraham is highly-rated at Villa after 25 goals in 37 Championship appearances for them on loan from Chelsea en-route to promotion in 2018/2019.
Abraham is into his second full season at AS Roma after joining the club from Chelsea for £34million in 2021 and has scored 25 Serie A goals in total in the Italian capital. But the forward’s future is likely to be up in the air this summer if Jose Mourinho leaves the club for a new challenge.
Eighth-placed Villa are interested in signing Abraham if they finish in the top seven and qualify for Europe. Boss Unai Emery knows he will need a deeper squad if they qualify for Europe with more firepower upfront alongside Ollie Watkins.
Abraham has plenty of experience in Europe after lifting the Europa Conference League trophy last term and is into the Europa League final this season with Roma.
If Villa proceed with plans they will need to stump up at least £40m which would break the club's transfer record after Emiliano Buendia joined in 2021 from Norwich in a deal that could eventually be worth £38m.
By James Nursey
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Aston Villa want to re-sign Tammy Abraham (Luciano Rossi/Getty Images)
Assombalonga to leave Watford
Britt Assombalonga is set to leave Watford after failing to agree terms on a new contract amid interest from several Turkish clubs.
The 30-year-old joined the Hornets on a six-month deal after leaving Adana Demirspor in January and scored twice in 11 appearances for the Championship outfit this season.
The striker held talks regarding a new contract with Watford, but the two parties failed to find an agreement after Assombalonga was offered a reduction in wages in order to stay at Vicarage Road.
The DR Congo international wanted to secure a permanent move to Watford as his family are based in the area but failed to agree personal terms. He is now free to search for a new club after the option to extend his deal expired on Thursday.
Alanyaspor, Antalyaspor and Konyaspor are all keen to bring him back to Turkey this summer, but Assombalonga is hoping to secure a move that allows him to stay in the UK
By Joe Krishnan
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