Newcastle are keen on signing Middlesbrough forward Adama Traore for the third consecutive window, according to the Northern Echo.
The regional newspaper claim Magpies manager Rafael Benitez is set to swoop for the Spaniard, 22, after showing interest in the transfer windows in January and last summer.
The Echo report Newcastle are hot on the heels of Traore as their bid to sign Kenedy permanently from Chelsea is “receding” following his successful loan last season.
OPINION
It will be a huge frustration to Benitez and the Newcastle fans that the club’s bid to land Kenedy permanently is falling flat. It’s likely that the cash needed to persuade Chelsea to sell the big-name Brazilian has soared out of the reach of the cautious north-east club. Is Traore the answer to Newcastle’s need for pace and directness from out wide? He is certainly much improved on the exciting but raw talent who first arrived in England at Aston Villa. His decision-making has improved, particularly under Tony Pulis at Middlesbrough, and he offers a more consistent threat. All five of Traore’s goals in 2017-18 and nine of his 12 assists came after Pulis took the reins at the Riverside Stadium on Boxing Day. Suddenly, the winger was catapulted from an occasional threat into a regular one and Championship defences were scared to death of him by the time the recent campaign finished. With two years left on his contract, Boro are vulnerable to losing their prize asset. However, his price tag has soared and the question is, would Newcastle be willing to pay the £15million-plus needed to land him?
