Newcastle United and Matthias Jaissle are still looking to bring in a number 10 before the transfer window ends with a deal for Matias Fernandez-Pardo not dead despite Lille's hefty asking price
of €70m.
The Magpies are also in the opening stages of exploring a move for Stuttgart man Bilal El Khannouss who is likely to be bumped up the pecking order if a deal for Fernandez-Pardo is deemed undoable.
Newcastle have been crying out for a creative profile to play in that sort of position for some time now, a need which has been further exacerbated with Jaissle deploying an out and out attacking midfielder in his default 4-2-3-1 system.
Saga unfolding for Fernandez-Pardo
Newcastle are not the only club interested in the Belgian, with RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid both having stepped away from a deal earlier in the window because of the asking price and Liverpool now also reportedly eyeing up the possibility of a move.
Newcastle see the deal as a difficult one to do, but reports have suggested that the club have been given some indication that the 23-year-old could be open to a move to Tyneside, despite previously demanding Champions League football from any move.
The Magpies have already seen a couple of bids rejected by Lille, with there currently being a disparity of about £10m between the valuation of the two clubs.
Why a deal with Lille may be difficult
Lille have become a club notoriously difficult to negotiate with and the French side are stubborn to losing their players for any less than their aking price... at least initially.
As Newcastle fans will remember, the club failed to sign Sven Botman from Lille during an initial period of interest in the January of the 21/22 season due to a difference in price, only for Newcastle to then get the deal done in the following summer for the price they deemed suitable initially.
Even this summer Lille have shown they can be difficult, with Manchester City's move for Ayyoub Bouaddi stalling due to some serious hardball from the Ligue 1 outfit.
All of that would suggest that the Magpies hierarchy are going to have to be at their negotiating best if they are to get a deal done for a sum which works for all parties.
Newcastle identify El Khannouss as secondary target
Newcastle aren't said to be particularly panicked by the current Fernandez-Pardo situation and the club are already preparing contigency plans should a deal become impossible.
The man the Magpies are chasing is Stuttgart's Bilal El Khannouss, who Newcastle had been interested in previously when he made that move from Leicester City to the Bundesliga.
Stuttgart are reportedly looking to sell the Moroccan before the window is done, with the 22-year-old keen on moving back to England to play in the Premier League.
Any deal for El Khannouss would likely be cheaper than the possible fee circulated for Fernandez-Pardo and could actually become more appealing to Newcastle as the window comes to a close with the negotiations seemingly presenting a much easier pathway to completing a deal.
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