Sources: PiF give green light for Newcastle to sell four stars in January
Newcastle United will listen to offers for four senior stars in January as their transformation of the squad continues, sources have told Football Insider.
Club captain Jamaal Lascelles, wingers Ryan Fraser and Matt Ritchie, and left-back Jamal Lewis have been deemed surplus to requirements by manager Eddie Howe.
Saudi owners PiF have given the green light to Newcastle offloading the senior quartet if the club receive the right offers.
Lascelles, Fraser, Ritchie and Lewis have slipped down the pecking order under Howe this season and have struggled for game time.
Of the four, Fraser has been most regularly used with three Premier League starts among eight appearances in total.
Lascelles has started just one Premier League match, while Ritchie and Lewis have only one sub appearance apiece in the competition this term.
Howe is gradually reshaping the team and the club want to offload the fringe players not seen as capable as playing at Champions League level in the future.
There is set to be a gradual break-up of the players signed during the Mike Ashley era over the next few years.
Lascelles and Ritchie are respected by Newcastle fans for their key roles in maintaining the club’s Premier League status during some dark years.
But both want regular first-team football and they will be let go with the club’s best wishes for the right offer.
Lewis, 24, has a contract until 2025 but has struggled to make an impression at Newcastle, while Fraser, who also has two-and-a-half years left on his deal, is well placed to land another Premier League club deal.
In other news, Newcastle United tipped to complete double January raid amid PL star’s reveal.