According to The Chronicle, Newcastle had to withdraw their interest in Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the summer transfer window.

What's the word?

After initially looking like they could be set for a major spending spree amid speculation of a potential takeover, the Magpies' summer plans were thrown up in the air when that fell through.

In the end, Steve Bruce's side still made some shrewd Premier League-proven signings in the likes of Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser, and it appears they also wanted to bring in Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea too.

The Chronicle claims that the Tyneside club had "tentative interest" in the midfielder, but that they had to abandon any potential move to due to not being able to shift out fringe players on big wages.

Worse than Longstaff

Whilst Loftus-Cheek may have burst onto the scene, his career since then hasn't quite hit the expectations. The England international has had his fair share of injury problems, with an Achilles tendon rupture in the 2018/2019 campaign keeping him out for almost a year.

The 24-year-old just hasn't been able to take to the field as often as he would have liked, with chances difficult to come by in a stacked Chelsea midfield.

Newcastle already have a talented English midfielder in their ranks with Sean Longstaff, and when you look at the numbers, there's a real argument to be made that Loftus-Cheek is actually far worse than the Magpies' hometown hero.

Last season in the Premier League, Longstaff averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.1 shots and 0.7 key passes per match. Compare that to Loftus-Cheek, who registered no tackles per game, and only 0.6 shots and 0.1 key passes per game.

Despite being described as a "world-class player in the prime of his career" by Fulham owner, Tony Khan, Newcastle have dodged a bullet by not signing him in the summer.

And in other news, this Newcastle flop has thrived since his St James' Park exit.