Newcastle 'will explore deals' for exciting £120m duo at St James' Park

Newcastle United ‘will explore’ move for the likes of Moussa Diaby and James Maddison in the near future, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Magpies were heavily linked with both players over the summer before baulking at their price tags and opting to sign Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad in a club-record deal instead.

Back in July, The Telegraph reported that Newcastle had ended their pursuit of Diaby due to his current club Bayer Leverkusen placing a £60 million asking price on their prized asset.

Eddie Howe openly admitted that he was in the market for attacking reinforcements after successfully strengthening his backline but wasn’t prepared to overpay in his quest for additional firepower.

The Guardian then revealed a month later that the Newcastle hierarchy had turned their attention to Leicester City attacking midfielder Maddison.

However, the St. James’ Park outfit saw two bids rejected for the one-cap England international, with the second totalling £50m, with £5m of that coming in potential add-ons.

Like Leverkusen, Leicester were said to be unwilling to budge from their £60m valuation of Maddison, forcing Newcastle to move on to alternative targets.

Newcastle are at the beginning of an exciting project under their mega-rich owners, and Jones believes they could revive their interest in Diaby and Maddison.

He told GiveMeSport: “So, whether it was somebody like James Maddison, who we’ve seen at Leicester, even though they’re having such a poor season; he’s been a standout player in the league.

“Or whether it’s Diaby, who is capable of some real magic, I do think that Newcastle will explore those sorts of avenues.”

It has been a tough season so far for Diaby, who earns £48,000-per-week, with the France