DeAndre Yedlin’s Newcastle career is surely in doubt, after Football Insider linked United with a reunion with Rangers right-back James Tavernier.
The Gers defender is understood to be attracting interest from a number of Premier League, Championship and continental sides this summer, having excelled in the Scottish Premiership last season under Steven Gerrard.
More than ten clubs are said to have registered an interest in the 27-year-old, with Newcastle, Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion thought to be keen on the full-back who scored 17 goals across all competitions during 2018/19.
Tavernier was also a prolific creator last term with 20 assists to his name, and has begun the new campaign strongly with two assists against St Joseph’s FC whilst captaining Rangers in a Europa League First Round qualifier earlier this month.
The Bradford-born defender, who made ten first-team appearances for Newcastle following his graduation from our academy, is not thought to be pushing for a way out of Ibrox this summer and has three-years remaining on his contract north of the border.
Rangers have reacted to the growing interest in the Magpies product by placing a £10million asking price on the right-back, as Gerrard sees Tavernier as a crucial part of his plans thanks to his influence from set-pieces and reliability, having missed just three games all season during 2018/19 – playing a total of 5,034 of a possible 5,400 minutes.
A move by Newcastle could be expected as the Magpies have long been in the market for defensive upgrades this summer, with the club’s scouting department deployed across Europe last season tasked with identifying potential upgrades on Yedlin and Javier Manquillo irrespective of Rafa Benitez’s future at the helm.
It was reported in May that the board had a shortlist of more than a dozen names, all seen as potential first-team options after the form displayed by £30,000-a-week Yedlin and ex-Sunderland man Manquillo failed to instil much confidence in the Toon hierarchy.
Tavernier would be a far cheaper upgrade at £10million than previously speculated targets like CSKA Moscow’s Mario Fernandes, with the Brazilian defender suggested to have been the subject of a £26.4million approach.
Magpies product Tavernier was sold in the summer of 2014 to Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, but left the Latics for Rangers after a year having struggled to make an impact at the DW Stadium before joining Bristol City on loan.