Newcastle eye deal to bring 'special' £9m star to St. James' Park

Bernd Leno has been mentioned as a potential target for Newcastle this summer, according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

Eddie Howe wants to improve his goalkeeping department ahead of next season and the German could be available for a move to St James’ Park.

Howe made his feelings clear about wanting to bring in someone to provide competition for Martin Dubravka in January after the Toon Army were linked with several shotstoppers.

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle have written up a four-man shortlist, which includes Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Leno.

None of those four have as much Premier League experience as the German, who’s made 101 top-flight outings for Arsenal despite losing his number one spot to Aaron Ramsdale earlier this season.

As a result, Leno recently said in an interview with The Times that he’s “open for everything” and would therefore consider leaving the Emirates club at the end of the campaign.

The 30-year-old, valued at £9m, is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract in North London and has made just a handful of appearances since Ramsdale became Mikel Arteta’s first choice.

Therefore, Arsenal would be willing to offload the Germany international for around five to £10m, and Downie revealed that the experience stopper, who was called “special” by Bukayo Saka for his performance against Aston Villa, has been mentioned to him.

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A report from the Daily Star suggests that Leno might snub a move to Newcastle and return to Germany.

However, the lure of staying in the Premier League might appeal to the Arsenal man, who’s already proven himself at this level over a long period of time and would surely