Forget Clark: Howe must seal NUFC deal for "eye-catching" beast, he's a "Rolls-Royce" - opinion

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s interest in Bournemouth beast Lloyd Kelly…

According to the Sunday Mirror, via TEAMtalk, the Magpies are keen on a deal to sign the central defender at the end of the season.

The report claims that they will make a move for him if the Cherries fail in their bid to win promotion back to the Premier League.

Ciaran Clark was recently axed from the club’s 25-man top-flight squad for the rest of the season and Eddie Howe must replace him in the summer by securing a deal to sign Kelly, who he previously signed for Bournemouth.

The Irish Magpies defender has been abysmal this season and it is time to forget about him and start thinking about the heroes of tomorrow. Clark averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.29 in the first half of the campaign, showing that he is far from good enough at this level.

Kelly, meanwhile, has been catching the eye in the Championship. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.06 in the second-tier, helping his side to keep an impressive 12 clean sheets in 22 starts.

Ex-Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate previously lauded the central defender, saying:

“He’s got talent. He’s got a lot of attributes which Premier League teams look at. But he needs to be consistent week in, week out now.

“At the minute he just looks like a bit of a Rolls-Royce doesn’t he? He looked very, very good (against Bristol City).

“I was impressed to be honest with you, especially when (Antoine) Semenyo tried to run him down the line and Semenyo gave him two yards and Lloydy overtook him. It’s eye-catching when things like that happen, especially as a fellow defender. When you see things like that, it’s like ‘you’ve got a bit’.”

These comments suggest that he has the physical qualities to make