A reliable journalist has named five players that Newcastle United may sign in the summer transfer window as an alternative to Joe Willock.

The Lowdown: Willock may not join Newcastle permanently

As well as Willock has done in the North East since arriving at St. James' Park from Arsenal on loan in January, there is no guarantee that the deal could be made into a permanent one, and so Steve Bruce's team may have to look at alternative targets to find someone to add end product from midfield.

As money could well be tight due to the financial impact of the global pandemic, players who will become free agents in the summer could be a fruitful market to go to.

The Latest: Five players Newcastle could target

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, journalist Sean McCormick has named five players that the Tyneside club could target in the summer if they run their respective contracts down.

The Toon Army will be familiar with the names of John Lundstram and James McCarthy, who both currently play in the Premier League for Sheffield United and Crystal Palace respectively, while Alex Mowatt has been captain of a Barnsley side who have taken up an unlikely position in the EFL Championship play-off places.

Hakan Calhanoglu and Alan Dzagoev have both featured prominently on both the European and international stage, and while the Magpies are very unlikely to sign up all five, one or two may be smart buys if they do not have to pay any transfer fees.

The Verdict: Little risk with free signings

There is little risk involved with signing players on a free transfer, as they are sure to have some resale value.

Taking the Transfermarkt values of each of the five players mentioned above currently, Calhanoglu (£31.5m), Lundstram (£6.3m), Mowatt (£3.6m), McCarthy (£3.15m) and Dzagoev (£3.15m) could save NUFC nearly £50m in potential transfer fees if they signed up all of them.

Of course, that is not going to happen, but even signing one or two of these players as free agents would certainly count as shrewd business if they can prove effective long-term or even for a short period before being sold for profit.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential takeover here!