Newcastle could make bid for wanted 28-year-old who has asking price slashed – report

Newcastle United could be weighing up a return offer for one of their former academy graduates in James Tavernier.

According to reports from the Shields Gazette, the right-back is being offered out for as little as £4m in the summer, which could well attract the Magpies who have reportedly been interested recently.

The story claims that the attacking defender wanted as much as £15m just six months ago, but now he is under a third of that value, which could be an exciting prospect.

What’s more, the defender has strong links to the club and even made his debut here, before eventually leaving for Wigan permanently in 2014.

They are not the only other club who are reportedly keen though, with West Brom and Aston Villa also interested, as well as Crystal Palace who were interested in the summer.

Right now, it seems a bit of a difficult one to see, especially considering they have four available right-backs in Emil Krafth, DeAndre Yedlin, Valentino Lazaro and Javier Manquillo.

However, with the latter of the two not set to be here next season as it stands, whether or not this is seen as a potential transfer or not depends enormously on what happens with those players.

You have to wonder why Tavernier is wanted out by Steven Gerrard and Rangers if the reports are true.

There’s no doubt he can offer a lot going forward with a decent delivery on him and an eye for a goal, but can he defend as Javier Manquillo can? And, if not, is he really what the club needs.

The club captain has some history in Scotland, playing 241 games, scoring a mammoth 46 goals and registering 73 assists, but this level is completely different. And as you can tell from nine clean sheets in 29 Premier League games, Newcastle’s focus is on about keeping teams out.

Manquillo is great for this. The defender has played 13 times this season, has the ability to get forward, but also is hugely important in defence as well, as his 2.1 tackles per game suggest.

Unless the Spanish forward leaves on a free, then Tavernier shouldn’t be considered.