One-time Newcastle United transfer target Lucas Paqueta wants to quit West Ham in January - sparking talk of a switch to a Premier League rival.
It's well documented that Paqueta is close with Bruno Guimaraes after spending time alongside the Toon skipper at Lyon before he moved to the English top-flight.
Newcastle looked at the Brazil star in 2022 but opted against the signing before he headed to West Ham for £51million. While Eddie Howe likes Paqueta, he played down links with the star three years ago.
Paqueta fuelled speculation that he was up for a move to Newcastle three years ago with visits to see Bruno and explore the city. His time at West Ham has been a mixed experience as he helped the Hammers lift the Europa Conference League in 2023 before encountering a two-year FA probe for spot-fixing before being cleared of betting offences and swerving a lifetime ban.
With the Times reporting, Paqueta's time could be up in January the star's agent will be looking to drum up interest in the 28-year-old.
He came close to a move to Aston Villa last summer when a loan deal with an obligation to buy for £47m got close.
Howe is an admirer of Paqueta but with his midfield area well stocked, he may look to other areas of his squad to improve. That said, stars like Paqueta don't become available often and Bruno would relish hooking up with his old Lyon team-mate if United did pull it off.
A £60m price tag has been suggested ahead of the January sales but with the Hammers threatened by relegation and Paqueta's contract expiring in 2027, there is room for negotiation with the London Stadium crisis club.
Currently picking up £150,000 per week at West Ham, Paqueta would be a pricey addition, but one that fits into Newcastle pay structure. Although, Howe would need to persuade the club's owners that an older signing would be worthwhile.
The Magpies are one of three clubs linked with Club Brugge centre-back Joel Ordonez who has been mooted as a possible Toon signing by global transfer expert Ekrem Konor.
The 21-year-old Ecuador international certainly fits the age category that PIF have told Eddie Howe to search in. But there are also mentions of Aston Villa and Liverpool who are named as admirers of Ordonez.
Ordonez started his career at Independiente before moving to Belgium with Club NXT for £3.5m and then switching to Club Brugge in 2023.
Ex-Newcastle reserve team boss Adam Sadler has left Parkhead alongside his boss Brendan Rogers after his dramatic exit on Monday evening.
Sadler, who worked closely with stars like Tim Krul, Andy Carroll and Fraser Forster during his time at St James' Park, is a close ally of Rogers and after working tightly with the ex-Liverpool chief at Leicester, is likely to follow him to his next job.
Rogers and his backroom team are now being linked heavily with the job at Wolves.