Federico Fernandez's Newcastle United future remains uncertain, but Chris Waugh has confirmed that the defender is 'someone they want to keep'.

The latest

The 32-year-old's name featured on Newcastle's retained list with the word 'offer' beside his name, with his current deal is due to expire at the end of the month.

Fernandez made 24 Premier League appearances for Steve Bruce's side last season and Newcastle appear to be moving to bolster their centre-back ranks in the transfer market, with a £6m deal for Kristoffer Ajer in the works.

It has also been reported that a loan move for Arsenal's William Saliba, a player they have monitored for 18 months, could be on the cards.

The lowdown

Waugh, the club's correspondent for The Athletic, said Newcastle are working to keep Fernandez, who joined from Swansea City in 2018, at St James' Park.

However, he added that the future of striker Andy Carroll, who is also out of contract, is 'less certain'. Newcastle have until 23 June to finalise their released lists ahead of the new season.

The verdict

It may be a slight surprise to see Newcastle endeavour to keep him when more youthful additions at centre-back are seemingly being lined up.

Perhaps the club are trying to guard against the kind of injury crisis they suffered in February, when Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Jamaal Lascelles were all missing, and Isaac Hayden had to fill in at centre-half for the game against Southampton.

On top of that, Fernandez is an experienced and dependable performer with 192 Premier League appearances to his name, so Steve Bruce will likely view him as an important asset to the squad.

In other news, Mark Douglas has offered the latest on the future of two youngsters.