Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is the driving force behind the club's interest in Kalvin Phillips, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Tarkowski, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

All three players have been heavily linked with the Magpies, who seem keen on building an English core at St James' Park.

What is the latest news involving Phillips, Calvert-Lewin, Tarkowski and Newcastle?

Reports suggest that Newcastle are interested in signing Phillips, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski this summer.

According to Football Insider, the Tyneside club, alongside Aston Villa, are currently leading the race for Phillips' signature.

Elsewhere, The Telegraph has claimed that Newcastle are also planning to make a bid for Calvert-Lewin, while the Daily Mirror states that they are poised to land Tarkowski.

As per Transfermarkt, Phillips, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski have a combined value of £102.6m, while the Daily Mail claims that the first and second of that trio could cost £60m each.

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What has Taylor said about Newcastle's interest in Phillips, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski?

Taylor has told GIVEMESPORT that Howe is a key factor in the club's interest in the English trio.

Speaking to GMS about the links to Phillips, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski, the Daily Express journalist said: "I think Eddie Howe is a key factor behind that. The signings he brought in in January, I know [Bruno] Guimaraes has obviously been a key figure, but Dan Burn and Matt Targett are established Premier League players, and Newcastle have really reaped the rewards of that familiarity with the league."

Should Newcastle's primary focus be on English players this summer?

Newcastle and PIF's transfer strategy certainly does look to be based around signing English players from the Premier League, with transfer insider Dean Jones recently telling GMS that the Magpies want a British core.

As Taylor touched on, they have already had a lot of success with Burn and Targett after signing the two English defenders back in January.

The former particularly impressed, finishing the season with an average of 4.3 aerial duels won per game - only Chris Wood (6.6) managed to win more than the former Brighton man (WhoScored).

Burn also made 6.1 clearances on average, which was the highest number in Howe's squad, again putting into perspective how good he was at the back for Newcastle.

Ultimately, given how well Burn and Targett settled to life at St James' Park, it is no surprise that Howe is going after more players with Premier League experience.

Whether he can get all three of Phillips, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski this summer, though, remains to be seen.