Jorginho”s Chelsea contract expires at the end of the season (Picture: Getty Images)
Newcastle United have identified Jorginho as one of their key transfer targets, with the midfielder’s contract at Chelsea due to expire at the end of this season.
The 31-year-old has been at Stamford Bridge since 2018 and remains an important player for the Blues, playing regularly in the Premier League and captaining the side in their first match back after the World Cup break against Bournemouth on Tuesday 27 December.
However, his future remains in question as he is about to enter the final six months of his contract with Chelsea, which will alert potential suitors, of which there will be plenty.
The Daily Mail report that the Italy international has emerged as a ‘prime target’ for Newcastle as they look to continue their impressive progress under Eddie Howe.
The Magpies are second in the Premier League table, having lost just one of their first 16 matches, and look to be genuine contenders for a Champions League spot, or even more.
The report also names a string of talents from across Europe that Newcastle are eyeing-up, be it in the January transfer window or in the summer.
Fran Garcia has also emerged on Newcastle’s radar (Picture: Getty Images)
Rayo Vallecano left-back Fran Garcia, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Kouadio Kone and Nice midfielder Khepren Thuram have also been touted as possible signings.
Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is also on the shopping list at St James’ Park, but he is not available, for now.
Howe has been non-comital on Newcastle’s plans for January, making it clear how different the club’s situation is now to this time last year when the mega-rich owners had only recently taken over and they were fighting a relegation battle.
‘I don’t really know, to be honest,’ he said. ‘We’re in a very different position to where we were last year. We knew we needed to act (last January) and we knew we needed some good numbers through the door to try and lift the group. Now, we’re in a different position.
‘Also, we are in a different position with Financial Fair Play than we were last year where we didn’t have a legacy of transfer fees, so we had a gap there we could attack. Not evading your question, but we’re not sure what we want the window to look like because we’re not sure what is going to happen.’
MORE : Manchester United and Chelsea target Jonathan David confirms intention to make Premier League move
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The Magpies are lining up a number of transfer targets.
