Newcastle transfer news: £9m star 'attractive' to Magpies as groundwork laid for summer deal

Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly is potentially an ‘attractive’ option for Newcastle United due to his versatility, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

The Magpies were heavily linked with a move for the 23-year-old throughout the January transfer window, although he ended up remaining on the south coast.

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe identified his former player as a possible target ahead of last month after signing him for Bournemouth in 2019.

Howe ended up bringing in Dan Burn from Brighton via a £13 million move instead, though, leaving Kelly free to help the Cherries in their push for promotion from the Championship.

However, Football Insider now claim Newcastle are ‘laying the groundwork’ to sign the 6 foot 2 ace regardless of whether they get relegated this season or not.

Kelly – who is valued at £9m by Transfermarkt – has impressed with his classy and mature performances over the last 18 months and his underlying numbers indicate why he is attracting the attention of Howe’s charges.

As per WhoScored, the former England Under-21 international has won 3.1 aerial duels, while pulling off a whopping 4.6 clearances and 0.5 blocks per league game throughout this season.

Those figures place Kelly in the top three for each metric amongst his teammates and indicate he may be ready for a return to the Premier League.

What has Crook said about Kelly?

Crook believes one of the reasons Kelly is on Newcastle’s radar is due to his ability to play at either left-back or centre-back.

Transfermarkt states that the youngster has played at full-back on 63 occasions to date and has been deployed through the middle another 57 times in his senior career.

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