An update has emerged on reported Newcastle target Axel Tuanzebe regarding Manchester United's loan fee demands.

What's the talk?

According to The Sun, the Red Devils are demanding that the Magpies pay a £5m loan fee for the centre-back this month.

The report claims that Aston Villa and Newcastle are both interested in signing the young defender before the end of the transfer window, but Manchester United are not going to budge on their demands.

It will bleed Ashley dry

Newcastle could be facing a disaster if they go through with this deal. £5m is an extraordinary amount of money to take a player on loan for 12 months. That money could be better spent towards signing someone on a permanent basis, as it holds longer-term value to the club on and off the pitch.

For example, £5m is slightly more than a third of the price Newcastle paid Norwich to sign left-back Jamal Lewis last summer. Whilst he may not have had an ideal first season, he has plenty of years left ahead of him at the age of 22 and could develop into a key player for the club for years to come and possibly be an asset who could be sold on for profit in the future.

This is why it would make more sense for Newcastle to invest £5m into a young talent on a long-term contract, instead of developing Manchester United's player for them whilst paying the price for it as well. On top of the £5m fee, Tuanzebe also has hefty £38k-per-week wages, which means that the deal would be bleeding Mike Ashley dry with little to come back from it beyond the short-term.

Last year, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed the defender as a great leader and praised his attitude following his performance against PSG in the Champions League.

The Norwegian said: "Axel's a tremendous defender, a great leader. He's come through the academy and we've known for years that he's going to be a top player for us and he's got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have.

Solskjaer added: "Sometimes you’ll get in a foot race with Mbappe and you have to run with him and we know Axel’s qualities, he’s a top defender."

This shows the quality of player the Magpies could be getting if they do sign him. However, the finances involved mean that this should be one to avoid for now. If they can get Manchester United to lower their demands and potentially take on a portion of the defender's wages, then it could start to make more sense for Newcastle...

AND in other news, Imagine him and Lascelles: NUFC must land £19k-p/w beast who can “lead by example”...