Newcastle United are stepping up their interest in Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga and are prepared to sell Harvey Barnes to make any deal happen, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk.
Barnes is seen as a possible makeweight in a deal between the two clubs, with Elanga currently valued at £50million (€58m / $67m). Aston Villa are also watching developments as they remain big fans of Barnes, but Newcastle offering the Englishman to Forest would bring Elanga’s price down significantly.
With Eddie Howe keen to to add pace to his Toon attack, Elanga, 23, tops his wanted list after an impressive year at the City Ground although Forest won’t allow the Swede leave without a fight.
Former Manchester United winger Elanga emerged as one of Forest’s key players last season, helping the club earn qualification for European football for the first time in 30 years.
Despite the incentive of Europa Conference League football, the opportunity to test himself in the Champions League will be a pivotal factor in his decision.
Elanga, who is also close friends with fellow countryman Alexander Isak on Tyneside, is waiting to see how any deal plays out with Brighton & Hove Albion forward Joao Pedro.
Pedro is wanted by Newcastle and Chelsea but appears to favour a move to Stamford Bridge with a £60m (€70m / $81m) fee mooted.
Newcastle ready to spend
This time last year Newcastle were hamstrung by PSR as they scrambled to raise funds to adhere to the Premier League’s financial rules.
But there’s no such issue in managing their finances this time around ahead of the PSR deadline on June 30.
Newcastle clinching Champions League football ahead of Villa and Forest also gives the Magpies the capability to bolster.
TEAMtalk revealed on June 9 that Newcastle are interested in both Elanga and Pedro.
And three days later, sources confirmed to us that Newcastle are confident they will snare Elanga as he is keen on joining them.
Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ousmane Diomande is another Toon target but Crystal Palace appear to be in the box seat. TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti revealed on Friday that Real Madrid and Chelsea are also in the mix for Diomande.
Palace are in talks to sign the Ivorian as a replacement for England international Marc Guehi – who ironically was on Newcastle’s list last summer.
Newcastle saw four bids rejected for Guehi, who is only under contract at Selhurst Park until the summer of 2026 and is a target for Liverpool.
