Newcastle Transfer News: Toon star on Jurgen Klopp's Real Madrid wishlist

A Newcastle United player has been named as one of six players Jurgen Klopp would reportedly target if he were to become Real Madrid’s new manager.

Los Blancos dismissed Xabi Alonso despite hiring the former Liverpool midfielder in the summer, with the Spanish giants lagging behind rivals Barcelona in La Liga’s title race.

Alonso’s brief tenure came to an end following their El Clásico defeat in the Supercopa de España, where Real succumbed 3-2 to their arch-rivals.

The fallout from Alonso’s departure has led to Real Madrid reportedly sounding out ex-Liverpool boss Klopp to replace him, and according to a report, luring the German out of retirement would come at a price.

And it’s Newcastle who are caught in the crossfire as one of their star men appears on Klopp’s apparent transfer shortlist.

According to reports in Spain (as per TEAMtalk), part of Jurgen Klopp’s demands to join Real Madrid involve calls to overhaul the playing squad.

This includes two new centre-backs, a left-back, a winger, and at least one centre-midfielder.

And as far as the latter is concerned, Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes has been mentioned as a prime Klopp target as a potential replacement for Eduardo Camavinga.

Guimaraes arrived from Lyon for over £40m in January 2022, and has since made quite a name for himself on Tyneside, becoming an integral part of Eddie Howe’s side that tasted cup glory last March.

Having also helped guide the Toon Army into the Champions League on multiple occasions, there is no doubting his importance to the Magpies, and the club would surely require a massive fee if Howe were to let him go.

Of course, plenty of things would have to happen before this particular bridge is crossed, and Spanish news sources can be rather speculative when it comes to transfers.

However, with Newcastle raising its profile in Europe and having players in the spotlight on a more regular basis, these kinds of rumours could be a sign of things to come as the club continues on its current impressive trajectory.

Guimaraes being a target for one of Europe’s biggest sides should therefore no longer come as a surprise, but this won’t mean Howe and the club won’t put up a fight to retain his services if it comes to that.

Still with two and a half years on his Newcastle deal, the club would be in a strong negotiating position, but the biggest positive signal comes in the shape of recent reports stating Guimaraes is ‘firmly committed’ to Newcastle United, with his representatives waiting for talks to begin.

That said, Real Madrid is not a move you would typically begrudge, and at 28, Guimaraes may have one big payday left in his top-level career.

In that case, he would be left to choose between heading to the Bernabeu and cementing his Newcastle legacy.

Graduated in Sport Journalism (BA) with first-class honours from the University of Brighton and has since had bylines in The Times, sports business publication SportsPro, Football FanCast and The Gooner fanzine.