Newcastle United have reportedly cooled their interest in signing in-demand 21-year-old Leeds United right-back Cody Drameh.
According to insider ExWHUemployee, as relayed by CaughtOffside, Newcastle United will not pursue a move for Leeds United’s young right-back Cody Drameh in the January transfer window, and will sign West Ham United right-back Harrison Ashby instead.
While the source didn’t exactly mention the name Drameh, it’s likely he was alluding to the Whites’ wantaway young defender.
“They [Newcastle] were chasing another right-back from Leeds. It appears that they’ve pulled out of the running to sign him now,” the insider told The West Ham Way podcast. “So it looks like Ashby will be completing his move to Newcastle.”
Newcastle United are looking to sign a new right-back in January to provide competition for skipper Kieran Trippier, with Swedish defender Emil Krafth sidelined with a long-term injury and Javier Manquillo out of favour under Eddie Howe.
And it looks like they are going to complete a deal for Harrison Ashby. The West Ham youngster was strongly linked with a move to St James’ Park during the summer transfer window’s deadline day. He looked set to move to St James’ Park, only for West Ham to back out of the deal at the last moment.
With the January transfer window approaching, fresh speculation of Ashby to Newcastle has resurfaced, and it appears to be set in stone transfer move this time around.
Another promising right-back boasting a similar profile and linked with Newcastle is Cody Drameh. The Leeds defender has reportedly been on the Magpies’ radar since last month, with the 21-year-old keen on a move away from Elland Road.
The highly-rated Leeds United full-back is garnering interest from a number of clubs across Europe. Per Fabrizio Romano, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Newcastle United, and LOSC Lille are all keeping tabs on the 21-year-old.
Despite excelling on loan at Cardiff City last season and scooping the club’s Player of the Season award, Drameh has struggled to find playing time at his parent club, Leeds United. He has only made two appearances this season, with head coach Jesse Marsch favouring Rasmus Kristensen at right-back.
The England Under-21s international has just over 18 months left on his current contract with the Premier League rivals and sounds like a decent alternative to Ashby.
But with the West Ham academy graduate now heading to Tyneside, Newcastle will certainly cool their interest in Drameh, as it would be pointless to sign two players in the same position. Another caveat behind the decision could be that Drameh wants to play first-team football, which he is unlikely to receive at Newcastle.
Leeds, ironically, were believed to be interested in signing Ashby over the summer and could still be keen on a move heading into the winter as a direct replacement for Drameh if he were to depart, but Newcastle are set to sign Ashby instead.
Even though the Magpies have pulled out of the race, he may still be on his way out of Elland Road this winter, with Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others, queueing up for his services.
