By David Woods

24th Jan, 2018 | 2:38pm

Sky: Newcastle make emphatic decision after seven-figure striker offer from PL rivals

Newcastle have categorically rejected Brighton’s bid for striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, according to a report.
Sky Sports claim on their transfer blog (14.24) that their sources have told them that Brighton’s bid was £8million and that it has been rejected out of hand for three reasons.
Firstly, Rafa Benitez does not want to sell to a relegation rival. He also feels that Mitrovic is worth more than £8million.
In addition, Newcastle do not want to sell unless they have a replacement and at the moment that’s proving hard.
Sky claim that Newcastle had a club-record bid rejected for Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen
Newcastle do not want to sell to a relegation rival, and feel the Serbia international is worth significantly more.
In addition Rafa Benitez does not want to sell any of his players unless he has a replacement lined up.
Mark Douglas, the Newcastle United editor on the Chronicle, claimed that the bid from Brighton was just £8million and that the club want almost double that to do a deal.

Football Insider verdict:
£8million for Mitrovic is a laughable offer for a player who is worth at least double that in today’s market. Newcastle have quite rightly rejected the offer but if they don’t make headway themselves they might have to rely on Mitrovic again for the rest of the season. That seems pointless as Benitez has a big issue with the striker. So there’s an impasse. If Brighton are serious they may come back with an improved offer but they’re poles apart at the moment and it seems unlikely they’ll pay double. It’s all very worrying for Newcastle fans.
In other Newcastle United transfer news, the Magpies have been named favourites to secure the capture of an experienced international forward.