Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing up a move to sign Ross Barkley in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: No guarantees over Willock

While Steve Bruce would love to bring Joe Willock back to St. James' Park after his successful loan spell in the North East from Arsenal, there is no guarantee that they would be able to sign him on a permanent deal.

Thus, the Tyneside club need to start looking at pursuing other targets in that area of the pitch, with Barkley being named as a potential new arrival.

The Latest: Newcastle eye Barkley

As per The Athletic, the Magpies would be interested in signing Barkley from Chelsea if he were to become available once the market opens.

However, the news outlet has also reported that their budget is very low, and so any potential deal for the central midfield player, currently rated at £18m by Transfermarkt, would have to be a loan.

The Verdict: Newcastle should consider Barkley

Barkley admittedly did not have the best of seasons while on loan at Aston Villa, scoring a mere three goals and making just one assist in 24 games in total in the Premier League, however, it was also a campaign that was disrupted by injury (Transfermarkt).

If he can put his injury problems aside, Barkley still has a lot that he can offer, with his ability to drive with the ball similar to that of Willock's, which benefitted the Toon so much at the latter end of the 2020/21 term.

Callum Wilson has also hailed the 27-year-old as someone he would like to play with, having dubbed him as an 'unbelievable' player on The Super 6 podcast (via HITC) back in February.

Nonetheless, Barkley is certainly someone that NUFC should not be turning their noses up at.

In other news, find out which 'outstanding' player Newcastle have stepped up their bid to sign here!