Newcastle United don't want to pay Maxwel Cornet's Burnley release clause all at once, The Daily Mail's Craig Hope reports.

The lowdown

Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports reported on Sunday that Newcastle hold a genuine interest in Cornet. They apparently deemed his price tag to be too high when they were offered the chance to sign him earlier in the window, but it looks like that stance has now changed.

Cornet is available for £17.5million after Burnley's relegation triggered a release clause in his contract.

Newcastle do face competition for his signature, with Everton and newly-promoted Nottingham Forest also keen.

The latest

Hope corroborates Newcastle's interest in Cornet, with Eddie Howe said to be an admirer.

But he says the structure of a potential deal could prove to be a stumbling block.

Newcastle are apparently reluctant to pay the clause in one solitary instalment.

The verdict

Everton may have already shown Newcastle a potential solution here. To appease Burnley, they would apparently actually pay more for the Ivorian overall.

The deal would involve a payment of just £5million this summer, but Everton would then be obliged to pay a further £20million next year.

Cornet deserves to be playing top-flight football again after standing out in a poor Burnley side last term.

He scored nine Premier League goals over the course of the campaign, three times more than anybody else in the squad.

One of his goals actually came against Newcastle on the final day of the Premier League season, with Cornet volleying home 'emphatically' (in the words of journalist Liam Kennedy).

It was very much on brand for Cornet, who can score 'spectacular goals', according to Alan Shearer.

But ultimately, it wasn't enough to keep Burnley in the top-flight as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Similar in profile to the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Emmanuel Dennis, Cornet is capable of playing through the middle or out wide, and that versatility makes him even more appealing.