Newcastle World journalist Liam Kennedy believes there is a strong chance that Newcastle will try to sign Manchester United's Jesse Lingard following their recent takeover.
The attacking midfielder is currently struggling for game time at Old Trafford, and could be set for a move away in January.
What's the latest news involving Lingard?
After thriving at West Ham in the second half of last season, scoring nine goals, Lingard will have hoped to make a major impact back at United this term.
However, he has largely been a peripheral figure in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad, consistently missing out on a starting berth to the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood.
Marcus Rashford has also recently returned from injury, which looks to have moved Lingard further down the pecking order, and Newcastle may try to take advantage of this by putting in a bid for the attacker in the next transfer window.
What has Kennedy said about Lingard potentially joining Newcastle?
Kennedy has claimed that Lingard, who is valued at £19.8m by Transfermarkt, is very likely to be targeted by Newcastle, as the Magpies look to stave off the threat of relegation this season.
Speaking about potential January signings at St James' Park, Kennedy told GIVEMESPORT: “The likes of Jesse Lingard and others are names that I’ve heard really strongly mentioned.”
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Would Lingard want to join Newcastle?
Right now, Newcastle's sole aim this season seems to be making sure they finish above the bottom three. It would be a big call from Lingard to leave a top four club and join a team battling relegation.
Then again, he is hardly playing at United at the moment, and he will surely have one eye on the 2022 World Cup, which is a little over 12 months away. If he stays in Manchester for another year and continues to sit on the sidelines, he risks missing out on Gareth Southgate's squad for the second major tournament on the trot.
Meanwhile, if he goes to Newcastle and helps them climb the table this season by contributing regularly, this could show Southgate that he is still a quality operator who warrants an international call-up.
With this in mind, Lingard may be tempted to move to the North-East so that he can revive his career, rather than allowing things to drift along as they currently are at United.
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