Newcastle to launch surprise bid for long-serving Spurs attacker.
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Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is considering making a move for Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon in the January transfer window, CaughtOffside can reveal.
The Magpies endured a difficult summer in the transfer market, bringing in only Loic Remy on loan from Queens Park Rangers, and have identified Lennon as a possible target who could be available by the time the transfer window re-opens again in the winter.
A winger is said to be high on Pardew’s agenda as he looks to strengthen his side’s attack, and highly-rated Blackpool starlet Tom Ince is another player being linked as a possible solution for Newcastle in that position, though the 21-year-old is also high in demand among other top Premier League sides.
Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa and even Tottenham themselves could also compete for Ince, which would make Lennon’s place in Andre Villas-Boas’ side even less secure than it already is following some big-name summer arrivals at White Hart Lane this season.
With star player Gareth Bale leaving the club in an £85m deal, Spurs have had plenty of money to spend on various new recruits, including attacking midfielders such as Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen, who along with the returning Andros Townsend after an impressive loan spell with QPR last season, are set to provide Lennon with a serious challenge to be a regular starter this term.
The 26-year-old has been with Tottenham for the vast majority of his career, after joining as a youngster from Leeds United back in 2005 for just £1m. Although he has been a solid performer for the club since then, he has never truly gone on to fulfill the potential he seemed to have as a teenager.
Still, his place in the side has never been as truly under threat as it is now, and this could tempt the pacey wide-man into looking for a new challenge elsewhere.
Italian giants Inter Milan had been linked with a surprise move for him in the summer, though it now seems that Newcastle would front the queue for his signature, as they also face some doubt over the future of one of their wide players, with French international Hatem Ben Arfa attracting interest from Liverpool as he stalls on signing a new contract at St James’ Park.
With three years remaining on his current contract at White Hart Lane, Lennon is unlikely to come cheap for Newcastle, though they will weigh up the situation closer to January as they see what kind of progress is made in their attempts to sign Ince.