Romano claims Newcastle had late move turned down for ‘extraordinary’ player

Newcastle United reportedly tried their luck with a late approach for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah late in January.

However, the Gunners turned down interest from the Magpies and Crystal Palace, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Newcastle were busy in the latter stages of the window as they brought in three players in the last two days.

Meanwhile, the Gunners parted company with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang late on deadline day.

Although Newcastle brought in a striker in Chris Wood, there was certainly scope to snap up another forward.

Indeed, the Magpies reportedly tried for Hugo Ekitike and Jesse Lingard, but couldn’t get either over the line.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s transfer window proved baffling to say the least as they lost 13 players and signed three.

Of those three, one is an academy player and two will join in the summer.

And after losing Aubameyang, Arsenal only have two senior centre-forwards – Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette.

It’s understandable why the Gunners turned down approaches for the 22-year-old in that case.

Romano also claims “there are chances” for Nketiah to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club “soon”.

However, the six-month rule relates to teams outside of the country in which the player plies their trade at that time.

Newcastle could only open talks with Nketiah after he enters the final month of his current contract (Goal.com).

Nketiah is, in Mikel Arteta’s words, an “extraordinary” talent for his age.

However, he has struggled to break into the Arsenal first-team, so it’s not surprising that was open to leaving.

Nonetheless, with the Gunners effectively giving away their strongest striker, former captain and club talisman, they couldn’t also lose Nketiah in the same window and not bring in replacements.