Newcastle United will reportedly have to stump up in excess of £35 million to secure the services of Leeds United winger Jack Harrison.
According to a report from the Northern Echo, Leeds United have slapped a price tag of over £35 million on Jack Harrison in an attempt to stave off interest from Newcastle United.
Having strengthened at the back, Newcastle have turned their attention towards signing a new striker and a winger this summer. But they have only faced frustration so far as they have failed to get their top targets.
Moussa Diaby has been the Magpies’ top target all summer. But despite a final effort to persuade Bayer Leverkusen to lower their asking price for the French international, the Newcastle chiefs have been unable to reach an agreement and appear to have faced defeat in their pursuit of the Frenchman, who was demanding hefty wages on top of it as well.
The Tyneside outfit have been linked with Leeds United’s versatile winger Jack Harrison for a number of weeks now. Eddie Howe is thought to be a huge admirer of the English winger’s creativity, versatility, and work-rate, as he looks to add more quality to his roster.
However, the Whites’ valuation of the former Manchester City man appears to be a spike in the road. As such, Newcastle were willing to spend as much as £20 million to lure the Leeds attacker to St, James’ Park. But, as per the report, Leeds would only consider parting ways with Harrison for a bid of more than £35 million as they are desperate to hold onto the rest of their key stars after losing Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha this summer.
To put Newcastle’s pursuit of Harrison in further doubt, Leeds manager Jesse Marsch has reinforced his stance that Harrison is set to be a big part of hiss plans at Elland Road moving forward. Harrison was one of Leeds United’s few bright spots this past season, demonstrating that he is capable of excelling at a Premier League level even when playing for an underperforming team.
He scored ten goals and supplied two assists in 38 games across all competitions, which was once again a fruitful return, having contributed to 16 goals in the previous season. And While Leeds are wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, they are under no pressure to sell Harrison, who still has two years left to run on his current deal.
As for Newcastle, they have baulked at some of the prices they have been quoted for their targets, and they may do so again in this situation due to their budgets constraints. With Maxwel Cornet and Callum Hudson Odoi also on their radar, the Magpies would be wise to look at other avenues than paying in excess of £35 million for the Leeds United winger, which is a heavily-inflated price tag.
