Newcastle’s loan move for Arsenal defender Rob Holding is on hold, with the Gunners currently unwilling to let the centre back leave the Emirates, a report from Sky Sports Transfer Centre (07/09, 13:58) has claimed.
Previous reports had stated that Holding was close to sealing a temporary move away from North London this summer, with Newcastle set to seal a loan deal, with no option to buy, for the 24-year-old.
According to this latest update however, it seems that that may no longer be the case, with Arsenal now said to be unwilling to let Holding – who played the full 90 minutes of the Community Shield just over a week ago – leave the club at this moment in time.
It is thought that Newcastle are still keen to do a deal for Holding, but whether or not that happens could now depend on Arsenal’s ability to sign a replacement for the centre back.
The Gunners have already secured one new centre back this summer, with Gabriel Magalhaes arriving from Lille on a permanent deal.
While this may be disappointing given Holding could have been a useful option for Steve Bruce’s side, this is probably not the worst thing that could have happened to Newcastle in this window.
The Magpies are well-stocked at centre back as things stand, so they were not in desperate need of adding someone such as Holding to their squad, and there were other positions that are in greater need of strengthening this summer.
Deals for Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser on Tuesday have helped them to that in attack, and you now feel as though left-back is a position of greater priority for Bruce and co, than the centre of the defence.