Sources: Newcastle working on new defender signing

Newcastle United's recruitment team are working to bring in a new centre-back in the next few transfer windows, sources have told Football Insider.

The Magpies began rebuilding their squad ahead of this season, and the centre of defence is the next area that is on their agenda.

They are hoping to welcome a new face through the door at centre-back either during the upcoming January window or next summer.

Sources say that Matthias Jaissle "would like" more options in that area of the pitch, and is not satisfied with the current level of depth.

Dan Burn and Fabian Schar are both into the latter stages of their careers, and Newcastle are aware that they need to refresh their backline.

The North East outfit were forced to overhaul their squad in the summer, and the changes are expected to continue moving forward.

Matthias Jaissle wants to bolster centre-back depth

Newcastle's bright start to the new campaign has started to tail off in recent weeks, and Jaissle and the recruitment team are already starting to identify areas for improvement in January.

The boss knows that he needs to add another centre-back to his group sooner rather than later, having relied heavily on the duo of Sven Botman and Malick Thiaw so far this term.

The former has battled lengthy injury layoffs in each of the last two campaigns, and Newcastle are keen to protect themselves against another potential crisis.

Burn and Schar are both out of contract at the end of the campaign, and can no longer be relied upon to play significant minutes.

Newcastle's lack of depth is aided to some extent by the fact that Jaissle favours a back four rather than a five, but the need for more options is still prevalent.

Newcastle have Fikayo Tomori 'on their radar'

Football Insider revealed on Tuesday that Newcastle have a move to sign AC Milan centre-back Fikayo Tomori "on their radar" next summer.

The 28-year-old has fallen out of favour at the San Siro and is expected to be allowed to leave when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

Newcastle were heavily linked with Tomori in the summer, and sources say that they still view him as one of their top options long-term.

The former Chelsea man now has over 160 Serie A appearances under his belt, and has also featured regularly in the Champions League in recent years.