"I'm very surprised" - Keith Downie drops interesting Newcastle transfer claim involving PIF

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie insists that he remains “surprised” that Newcastle United have been unable to sign a new centre-back in the January transfer window.

The club have been heavily linked with a number of new additions this month as they bid to strengthen Eddie Howe’s squad.

They seem to be meeting with frustration as they look to bring in further reinforcements after signing both Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood from Atletico Madrid and Burnley respectively.

The two signings have both come into the club but there remains a desire at Newcastle, per reports, to bring in further additions.

There is a suggestion that they want to sign at least one centre-back, as well as a midfielder, a striker, and a winger.

With just a week of the window remaining, it looks like a remarkably difficult prospect for Newcastle to pull off, especially as there are reports suggesting that the club are meeting with resistance as they bid to land their top targets.

A move for Lille’s Sven Botman was mooted throughout the first couple of weeks of the transfer window, but a bid was ultimately rejected by the French club.

A similar fate has befallen the Magpies’ chase to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla, with the Spanish club holding out for a fee of £37.9m and rejecting a bid worth £30m.

It now appears that Newcastle could turn to either Burnley’s James Tarkowski or Brighton & Hove Albion’s Dan Burn, per reports, but it remains to be seen if their Premier League rivals will be willing to bolster Howe’s squad, especially as the Clarets have already seen Wood move to St James’ Park.

And Downie has now revealed his shock that no deal has been struck for a centre-back.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, he said: “They said they did a lot of the spade