Newcastle United were "keen" on signing Manchester United's Scott McTominay in the January transfer window, and "they will be again", claims journalist Alex Crook.
Newcastle United transfer news – What's the latest on Scott McTominay?
It has been a productive start to the transfer window for Newcastle United this year; despite dropping their interest in the now Tottenham Hotspur player James Maddison, they are on the verge of signing Italian international and AC Milan star Sandro Tonali.
According to Sky Sports, the tenacious midfielder will join his new teammates after completing his international duties with Italy's U21 side in a deal worth a reported £55m.
That fee still leaves the Magpies with a decent chunk of their supposed £75m war chest, a chunk they could spend on United's McTominay.
According to the Daily Mail, the Toon are still interested in the Scotland international's services after first registering an interest in the player back in January.
The biggest stumbling block for any deal might be the price, though, as the Red Devils have priced their midfielder at £30m, which would be slightly out of reach for the Magpies should they fail to shift any players of their own.
Journalist Alex Crook explained the situation between the two clubs and pointed out another potential problem that could cause doubt amongst the United board about selling the player to Eddie Howe's outfit.
Speaking on TalkSPORT's YouTube channel, he said: "There's lots of interest in him. I know Newcastle were keen in January; they will be again. The conundrum there is, do Manchester United really want to strengthen Newcastle, who are coming up on the rails as a genuine big four rival?
"I see West Ham, a side in mid-table as more his level."
Would Scott McTominay be a good signing for Newcastle United?
The answer to this question will depend on how Howe envisions utilising McTominay should he move to St. James' Park.
As a solid backup player who would start most games on the bench but could be relied upon to help see games out and give players a rest in cup games, he would be great.
However, if the expectation is that he would come into the starting lineup and help the team develop into a more free-flowing and entertaining side, it could be a disaster.
According to FBref, who compare players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the 6 foot 3 "monster" – as once described by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – is in the bottom 6% for progressive passes, the bottom 8% for assists, bottom 15% for expected assists, bottom 17% for attempted passes and the bottom 33% for shot-creating actions.
All of that strongly suggests that you won't be getting any kind of attacking nor progressive play out of McTominay should you be playing him regularly, which might be suitable for a mid-table team as Crook suggests, but for Champions League playing Newcastle, he may be viewed as a rotational option.