Severe player injuries have changed Newcastle's transfer plans for the summer

Newcastle were preparing for a quiet transfer window, mulling over just one centre-back, but injuries to Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles will somewhat shatter the Forties' calm and force them to work harder on their transitions.

So, Eddie Howe's team were not too upset about Botman's cruciate ligament rupture, as the club were already looking for a centre-back, but a similar injury to Lascelles, which threw both out of football for at least nine months, has forced Newcastle to work on the transfer of a second centre-back, as HITC reports.

Of the main players in this role Howe has only Fabian Schar, and from the left flank of the defence in the centre will return Dan Burn, so the Magpies have already begun to work out the options. The main contender to strengthen the centre of Newcastle's defence, as previously reported, is Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly.