Newcastle United were leading Italian giants Juventus in the race to sign Christian Pulisic from Chelsea during the summer transfer window but could not get a deal over the line, according to journalist Simon Phillips.
Eddie Howe was handed over £120 million to bolster his squad at St James’ Park but failed in his pursuit of the Blues’ American winger.
What is the latest on Pulisic?
According to The Athletic, the Magpies were interested in signing the former Borussia Dortmund star on loan ahead of September’s deadline.
The report also states that fellow Chelsea stars Armando Broja, Conor Gallagher and Callum Hudson-Odoi were also being discussed behind the scenes.
However, the two-time European champions were understood to only be ready to sell Pulisic and would not loan him out.
Juventus informed Chelsea in the summer that they would be willing to accept the 23-year-old as part of a swap deal for centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, but the Dutchman ultimately signed for Bayern Munich.
Since the start of the season, Pulisic has appeared in every Premier League game for Chelsea but has only started their most recent clash with West Ham.
He also had to settle for a six-minute cameo during Graham Potter’s first game in charge which may not fill him with confidence.
What has Phillips said on the player?
Phillips understands that Newcastle were leading the race to sign Pulisic during the summer transfer window and had the edge over Juve.
The journalist adds that because Howe’s side only wanted the player on loan, the deal ultimately collapsed ahead of the deadline.
Phillips told GIVEMESPORT: “I’m told, in the summer, Newcastle were a lot closer to signing Pulisic than Juventus. They really wanted him on loan but, obviously, Chelsea weren’t going to do that, they only wanted to sell him permanently if they were going to let him go.”
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Who have Newcastle signed since the end of last season?
While Pulisic did not make the move, five new faces did arrive in the North East.
Howe bolstered his attack with the arrival of striker Alexander Isak, who signed from Real Sociedad on a club-record £63 million deal.
All four remaining deals reinforced the other end of the pitch, with goalkeepers Nick Pope and Loris Karius putting pen-to-paper at St James’ Park along with defenders Sven Botman and Matt Targett.
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