A major update has emerged on Newcastle United's pursuit of Manchester United's Donny van de Beek...

What's the talk?

According to The Telegraph, the Magpies made contact with the midfielder to speak about a potential loan deal and were met with a firm decision in response - no.

The report claims that he told the club that he does not want to arrive at St. James' Park on loan and part of his reasoning is their battle against relegation at the bottom of the table.

Gutted

Nick Hammond is facing his first blunder of the January transfer window for Newcastle by missing out on a deal to sign van de Beek as fans will be left gutted.

The report indicates that discussions were had between the two parties leading up to the player's final decision and this suggests that the transfer chief did not do enough to convince him.

Newcastle's pitch was not tantalising enough to tempt the Dutchman into ditching Old Trafford to join the Magpies and this could be an error as he could have been an excellent addition to the squad. Although he has struggled for game time at Manchester United, he has previously proven his quality for Ajax in the Eredivisie and the Champions League.

Back in 2020, Scott McTominay praised his character and believed that his game time would increase. He told Sky Sports:

"Donny van de Beek is a great lad and a brilliant football player. I'm sure, the way he is working in training and how hard he's working, his time will definitely come to get more minutes on the pitch."

However, that has not been the case and he has played 69 minutes of Premier League football for the Red Devils this season. This comes after he made 19 appearances last term, four starts, and played 515 minutes in the English top-flight.

In the 2018/19 campaign, he produced 12 goals and 12 assists from midfield in the Eredivisie and Champions League combined. He averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.16 across 12 matches in the latter, showing that he can produce quality displays on a regular basis at the top level, which is why Newcastle fans will be gutted that he has decided not to join the club.

It is now down to Hammond, Eddie Howe and PIF to either change his mind and seal a transfer or identify alternative targets who can come in and have an impact on the side.

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