Newcastle fear another Chelsea hijack in their pursuit of Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, talkSPORT understands.
As talkSPORT reported on Monday, the Magpies are trying to wrap up a club record £78million deal for Ekitike.
Sources close to Chelsea have confirmed the 23-year-old is on a list of potential targets in the event Nicolas Jackson is sold, which may explain why Newcastle have stepped up their interest.
The fact that Ekitike is represented by agent Ali Barat is a cause for concern for Newcastle given his relationship with the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
Barat has already brokered numerous deals for Chelsea, including Moises Caicedo’s £115m in what was a then-British record transfer.
Ironically, Barat also represents Jackson, who the new Club World Cup winners are willing to sell after signing Joao Pedro from Brighton.
The Blues did so under the noses of Newcastle, with Liam Delap also a new arrival from Ipswich Town.
Ekitike netted 22 goals and assisted another 12 for Frankfurt, with 23 of his contributions coming in the Bundesliga.
Formerly of French club Reims, he joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2022 initially as a loan signing before joining permanently the following year.
However, the Frenchman then left on loan for Frankfurt in February 2024 ahead of another permanent switch.
A move to Chelsea would give the west Londoners a significant boost in attack for next season.
Pedro is already off the mark for the Blues with three goals, the most recent of which came in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
Delap also netted earlier in their Club World Cup campaign, doing so against Esperance de Tunis during the group stages.
Jamie Gittens is another signing to have arrived at Chelsea in a move from Borussia Dortmund.
The winger did not feature in the United States having played for Dortmund during the tournament.
Noni Madueke is closing in on a £52million move to London rivals Arsenal and was absent from their Club World Cup final victory.
talkSPORT reported interest in Madueke from Newcastle last summer after Chelsea signed Pedro Neto from Wolves.