Newcastle United tried, but failed, to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the summer.
Eddie Howe identified the 24-year-old as his top target and had hopes of bringing him to St. James’ Park before the start of the season.
Despite being in negotiations with Palace for several weeks, and making multiple offers, including one worth £70 million, the two clubs failed to reach an agreement.
Guehi has been forced to continue at Selhurst Park, and although his future is still hugely uncertain, has remained a key figure for Oliver Glasner.
Newcastle United dealt blow in Marc Guehi pursuit
Although the Magpies are expected to try and sign the England international again, possibly in the January transfer window, it is unknown how Palace will respond despite the defender’s contract expiring in just 18 months.
Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown, who spoke to Football Insider, reckons the Eagles are ‘frustrated’ by how talks went in the summer and may not be so keen to reignite talks with their Premier League rivals.
“Is the situation with Newcastle going to be reignited or is somebody else going to come in?” he said.
“I don’t think people are going to come in at that same £70million price.
“Newcastle could come back in for him, but would the chairman at Crystal Palace bite the bullet and take less from them than they offered in the first place?
“I’ve heard they were a bit frustrated about the way that deal went with low-ball offers and whatnot. It would certainly come as a blow for Palace if they accepted a lower bid just six months later. They’ll definitely be reluctant to have those conversations.
“I think that deal would be difficult for Newcastle at this stage because things didn’t exactly go swimmingly last time. Neither side was totally happy with the way it went.“
Wout Faes among alternative targets
During his three years with Palace, Guehi, who now also has 18 caps for England, has directly contributed to eight goals in 121 games in all competitions.
Failure to sign the Abidjan-born centre-back at the second time of asking could force Howe to consider alternatives.
One name on the Englishman’s shortlist of possible targets is Leicester City and Belgium’s Wout Faes. The 26-year-old has two-and-a-half years left on his deal at the King Power but could move on at the end of the season, especially if the Foxes are relegated back to the Championship.