Newcastle United remain interested in bringing Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury to St James’ Park on loan this month and they are leading the race to secure a deal alongside fellow strugglers West Brom, according to The Athletic.
The midfielder is reportedly keen to secure a move away from Leicester to get more regular game-time during the second half of the season. That comes after the 23-year-old has only made three appearances in the Premier League this term and just one of those was as a starter (Sofascore). However, the Foxes are still considering whether to sanction an exit for him.
The Magpies and West Brom face competition for the midfielder, with both Fulham and Sheffield reigniting their interest in him from the summer transfer window, according to The Athletic. Choudhury himself is thought not to have any real preference for one particular club this month and is only focusing on moving somewhere he can get guaranteed game-time.
However, it has also emerged that Newcastle could potentially have a complication in securing a loan move for Choudhury, with Steve Bruce’s future as manager in doubt at the moment due to a 10-match winless run, per The Athletic. That comes despite Mike Ashley reportedly having planned to give the 60-year-old until at least the end of the season, per Chronicle Live.
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This is an interesting update and suggests that Newcastle’s hunt for a midfielder is going to go right down to the last moments of the transfer window. Bruce has suggested in his press conference ahead of the game against Leeds this evening that there are a couple of transfer situations bubbling away for the Magpies, and this report suggests Choudhury is one of those.
The 23-year-old does not possess the more attacking and creative attributes which have been lacking from Newcastle’s midfield, but he is an effective distributor of the ball, having averaged a 86% passing accuracy in his 20 league appearances last term (Sofascore). That suggests there could be a place for him to add some much-needed composure in possession to the Magpies’ midfield.
It is interesting to see that Bruce’s situation could impact on the potential signing of Choudhury, with speculation continuing over the 60-year-old’s future. That suggests there is concern from other clubs and players potentially doing deals with Newcastle this month as to whether Ashley will change managers, and then they might not feature under a new coach. Those worries will not make it easy to secure transfers for Newcastle this week.
