Newcastle are set to step up their interest in Sam Clucas.
According to a report in The Sun the Hull midfielder is Rafa Benitez’s priority transfer target.
Clucas was one of the success stories of Hull’s season even though it ended in relegation to The Championship.
The 26-year-old missed only one match all season and did enough to get name checked by Gareth Southgate as a future internationalist.
Newcastle are expected to put in an initial offer of around £4m but may have to double that fee with other clubs keen on the midfielder who was signed by Steve Bruce for £1.3m two years ago.
Hull would rather hold on to the former Chesterfield man but couldn’t get close to matching the sort of salary that Newcastle could put on the table.
In January Newcastle were linked with Tom Ince and Tom Cairney but now it looks like Clucas will fill a big gap in Benitez’s midfield.
