Newcastle United are attempting to prise Nicolai Jorgensen away from Feyenoord after Mike Ashley indicated he was willing to break the club’s transfer record in an attempt to help Rafael Benítez’s side avoid relegation.
It is 12 years since Newcastle paid £16m to sign Michael Owen but, although they are prepared to top that, it is felt that Feyenoord’s £20m asking price for the Denmark striker is excessive.
Last week the Rotterdam club rejected a £14m offer from Newcastle for a 27-year-old who has scored 26 goals in 43 games – including five in the last six – in the Netherlands and holds 28 caps.
Negotiations to reach a compromise are ongoing but, should they founder, Newcastle will turn their attention to the Leicester City striker Islam Slimani, who is also priced in the £20m bracket.
Benítez will be expected to recoup some money by offloading a striker, most probably Aleksandar Mitrovic. Brighton have made a £15m bid for the Serbia centre-forward and are awaiting developments.
West Ham close to João Mário deal
West Ham are close to signing Portugal midfielder João Mário on loan from Internazionale after losing Manuel Lanzini for six weeks to injury.
Lanzini has ruptured a hamstring, prompting West Ham to step up their pursuit of the 25-year-old, who is not a regular starter at Inter under Luciano Spalletti and whose future has been cast further into doubt by the arrival of Rafinha from Barcelona.
West Ham have offered to pay João Mário’s wages in full and are seeking a compromise over the size of the loan fee for the Portugal international, whom they regard as capable of playing in a variety of midfield roles. Real Betis’s Fabián is another player under consideration.
The Premier League club’s need for creative reinforcements is stark, with Marko Arnautovic also struggling with a hamstring problem, Andy Carroll out for months after foot surgery and Michael Antonio working his way back to full fitness after a month out of action with a groin injury.
West Ham are four points above the bottom three before hosting Crystal Palace next Tuesday. But while David Moyes is dissatisfied with the size of his squad, Reece Oxford is expected to rejoin Borussia Mönchengladbach on loan next week.
The defender spent the first half of the season with the Bundesliga club and was enjoying in Germany there before it was cut short. Gladbach and Red Bull Leipzig both made efforts to sign the 19-year-old last month, only for Moyes to decide that he wanted a closer look at him.
However, Oxford failed to impress in the FA Cup victory against Shrewsbury Town last week, lasting 69 minutes before being substituted, and would have no reservations about continuing his development with Gladbach.
