Newcastle United are closing in on a deal for Wolfsburg's Felix Nmeche, left. Photo: Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke
Newcastle United are preparing to bid for German international midfielder Felix Nmech as they hope to start recruiting in the summer.
Although the move came as a surprise given his name is previously not mentioned, Telegraph Sport can confirm that Newcastle United have been tracking the Wolfsburg player for months, instructing scouts to focus on signing value-for-money deals in the Bundesliga.
Reports have been positive as his all action, fighting style of play caught the attention of manager Eddie Howe and the former Manchester City player was shortlisted for foreign targets at the end of last season.
Nmecha has also been linked with move to Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund over the past few months and is expected to be worth around £15m.
It is understood that there have been several remote meetings between manager Eddie Howe, director of football Dan Ashworth and chief scout Steve Nixon over the past few days with a determination to get things off the ground in the market.
And so far, serious concerns about Regarding financial fair play, Nmecha's signing will be relatively cheap and shows the club's desire to get the most out of their investment in a “tough market”.
Newcastle still intend to spend the bulk of their budget on two elite players, at least one of whom is another midfielder, but that would be a sign of the need to strengthen the squad as well as improve the first team ahead of their return to the team. Champions League after a 20-year absence.
Nmecha represented England at youth team level and played for Manchester City in the League Cup and Champions League before leaving for Wolfsburg on a free transfer in the summer of 2021 .
The Hamburg-born player defected to Germany at U-21 level and made his senior debut in March of this year.
Another player being seriously considered is Nice midfielder Kefren Thuram, but the 22-year-old France international would have been the more expensive option, so they switched to Nmecha first. Thuram will be worth around £30m and has also attracted interest from Liverpool.
Newcastle United are also looking to secure a mutually acceptable fee with Leicester City for England international James Maddison, who was convinced that a move to Newcastle is his desired destination.
Newcastle are currently unwilling to match the £60m original asking price, but confidence is growing that they can reach a compromise with the recently relegated club from the Championship.
If Nmecha and Maddison arrive in the next couple of weeks, it will be an early boost for the club and allow them to evaluate their other positional needs with a decent amount of money left to play.
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