Mohamed Elneny's agent makes Newcastle transfer claim and Nico Schlotterbeck price tag set

Here is your Newcastle United transfer digest for Thursday, February 10th.

Eddie Howe labelled Bruno Guimaraes as one of Newcastle United's 'primary targets' in the January transfer window, with the former Lyon star making his debut as a late substitute during Tuesday night's win against Everton.

However, the Magpies also made a mid-season move for Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, according to the Egyptian international's agent Alan Nazmy.

Quotes relayed by Sport Witness indicate the 29-year-old was the subject of approaches from clubs across Europe, with his contract in North London set to expire this summer.

Nazmy said: “Mohamed Elneny doesn’t follow social media directly, but sometimes someone from his circle would send him news about him or criticism.

“The player’s contract expires at the end of the current season, and Arteta rejected all offers that came for Elneny and asked that him to stay with the team.”

“Newcastle United, Valencia, Lyon, and the largest known Turkish clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, wanted to sign Elneny, but in the end Arteta and the Arsenal management refused.”

The Magpies were unsuccessful in approaches for Sven Botman and Diego Carlos of Lille and Sevilla respectively, but managed to land boyhood fan Dan Burn from Brighton on deadline day.

Freiburg centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck was among a host of defenders linked with a January switch, with the 22-year-old enjoying an impressive season to date.

Now, German outlet Sport1 claim the Bundesliga side would be willing to accept a bid in the region of £16m for the defender, with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2023.

However, the report goes on to suggest Schlotterbeck would prefer to remain in Germany with Borussia Dortmund