Newcastle are yet to receive a response from Sevilla after making an offer for Diego Carlos; signing a centre-back is the club's top priority following the arrival of striker Chris Wood; Newcastle also interested in Benoit Badiashile but Monaco's €60m asking price is prohibitive
Friday 14 January 2022 07:05, UK
Newcastle are continuing to push to sign Diego Carlos and are awaiting a response from Sevilla after submitting a bid for the defender.
Signing a centre-back is Newcastle's primary focus after the arrival of striker Chris Wood from Burnley for £25m on Thursday.
The Premier League side retain a strong interest in Benoit Badiashile, but a deal for the Monaco defender is now looking unlikely after he sustained an injury during his side's draw with Nantes.
Another stumbling block is Monaco's asking price, with the Ligue 1 side looking for a fee in the region of €60m (£50m) for the 20-year-old.
Carlos, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with Brazil in the summer, has made 27 appearances for Sevilla this season, scoring two goals.
Lille's Sven Botman was their primary centre-back target, but the French club are only willing to do business for around £36m.
Eddie Howe's desire to improve his defence is understandable, with his Newcastle side having conceded 42 goals in just 19 Premier League games this season. Only Norwich have a worse defensive record.
While their focus is on strengthening at the back, Newcastle are also in talks with Reims for France U20 forward Hugo Ekitike, with the striker understood to be keen on a move to St James' Park.
However, that move is not a priority following the signing of Wood. Newcastle were keen to bolster their attacking options following the news that top scorer Callum Wilson will be out for two months with a calf injury.
Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol
"Diego Carlos' potential transfer to Newcastle is moving in a positive direction. It is not done, but positive.
"He is a top, top quality centre-back. He's been very impressive at Sevilla and people were talking about would he want to go from Sevilla to a club that are in the relegation zone in the Premier League.
"But I think the player himself is open to coming to Newcastle. I think he would definitely want to move and it looks like some progress is being made."
Sky Sports' Dharmesh Sheth
"Newcastle's primary focus right now is to bring in a central defender. The player in question is Sevilla defender Diego Carlos.
"It's been confirmed to us that a bid has been made for Carlos and Newcastle are now awaiting a formal response from Sevilla. It hasn't been accepted or rejected.
"As for their other targets, they do still retain a strong interest in Monaco's Benoit Badiashile. However, this one is beginning to look increasingly unlikely - there's two reasons for that.
"There's still no confirmation on how long he'll be out for and I think that is a little bit of a warning sign for Newcastle.
"The other issue is the asking price - I'm told Monaco's asking price is close to €60m, which I don't think Newcastle want to go anywhere near."
Newcastle's first-team squad will travel to Saudi Arabia later this month for a warm-weather training camp.
It will be the first time the players and Eddie Howe will have been to the country since the Saudi-backed takeover of the club in October.
Newcastle will travel immediately after their Premier League fixture at Leeds on January 22, following which they have a two-week gap between games.
The players are expected to meet with Newcastle chair Yasir Al-Rumayyan in Saudi Arabia, although it is unclear if there are plans for them to meet with the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Who will be on the move in January?
The January transfer window opens on Saturday January 1, 2022 and closes at 11pm on Monday January 31.
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