Newcastle transfers: Eddie Howe told winter target would be ‘great signing’ but twin reasons cloud mid-season move
Crystal Palace centre-backs Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen
Gabby Agbonlahor believes defender Joachim Andersen would be a ‘great signing’ for Newcastle but prising him out of Crystal Palace will take some doing.
Anderson, 27, is currently in his third season for the Eagles after moving from Lyon in July 2021. The South Londoners paid in the region of €17.5m for the central defender and it has certainly been money well spent. Having made 31 top-flight appearances for Fulham while on loan during 2020-2021, he was a busy man during his first Palace campaign.
The Denmark international was seen 39 times in all competitions while he enjoyed 33 outings last term.
The rangy stopper has played every minute of Palace’s seven league fixtures in 2023-24.
And he has helped Roy Hodgson’s side into ninth spot in the table heading into the weekend fixtures.
The Dane has already bagged two goals and scored the winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford last time out.
Unsurprisingly, a few clubs have taken note of his stellar form. Newcastle were heavily linked during the summer transfer window.
And reports claimed the Magpies tabled a £30m bid towards the end of August.
That was rejected by the capital outfit who were keen to see the talented centre-back remain at Selhurst Park.
An early-season injury to Sven Botman prompted Eddie Howe to look at a possible replacement.
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But he failed to land the Scandinavian and has deployed Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar at the heart of his rearguard.
And Paul Dummett was handed an opportunity when the Magpies beat Manchester City 1-0 in the EFL Cup third round.
Botman is still on the sidelines and it remains to be seen who Howe uses when Newcastle travel to face West Ham on Sunday.
Anderson will not come cheap
Newcastle United have now begun to find their form after a tricky start to the campaign.
Three straight Premier League wins has seen them move up to eighth in the table.
Add to that the League Cup triumph and a 4-1 Champions League thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain, and things are looking good.
Howe has been praised for his astute recruitment to date. And it was recently reported that the Tynesiders chief will try to lure Anderson to the club in January to further strengthen his ranks.
Agbonlahor feels that would be a good move but the former striker has warned the north-east outfit they will need to dig extremely deep.
“I don’t see why Palace would want to sell him, especially in January,” he told Football Insider.
“Him and Guehi have got a great partnership, so it’s going to cost Newcastle a lot of money.
“If they’re willing to pay a lot of money, then it’s a great signing. I rate him highly.
“But maybe Crystal Palace will price him out of a move. It’ll be difficult to replace him in the middle of the season.”
Anderson has made 79 appearances in all competitions for Palace and is clearly highly-rated at the club.
And Newcastle’s interest may be waved away once again if club officials do not feel the need to cash in.
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