Newcastle United may now face an obstacle in their pursuit of Hakim Ziyech with Chelsea believed to be unwilling to deal with the Magpies.

What's the latest?

There are reports suggesting the Toon are eyeing the Moroccan forward, Ziyech, this month with a potential loan deal until the end of the campaign on the radar.

However, it seems their targets may now be narrowed down to just Gordon in the final days of the window which now seems to be all set to happen with the Londoners believed to be wary of sending any players to Tyneside.

Speaking on the Ranks FC Patreon page, insider Dean Jones has shared the word coming out of Stamford Bridge suggesting they are not keen on selling to their top four rivals:

(23:45) "They've obviously had interest in Ziyech too. I have heard from the Chelsea end that they wouldn't be entirely willing to help Newcastle out right now. Obviously Newcastle, potentially stealing their top-four position at the moment."

Not dealing with rivals

Although this may not be what some Newcastle fans want to hear, it has to be said many Toon fans would likely be unhappy to offload some of their players to the teams around them.

However, the irony comes in Chelsea's struggles this season with Newcastle now 10 points clear of the Blues with over half of the campaign already gone.

There is a big gap between the two sides so there could be the view that loaning Ziyech to Newcastle may not make much of a difference with the Toon already well clear in third spot with Chelsea down in 10th.

However, there is still a long way to go and although Chelsea may need a miraculous second half of the campaign to land a spot in the top four, they could still battle for a spot in the Europa League.

And although Newcastle fans will not want to think about this, a handful of results going against them over the coming weeks could quickly pack the group back up together.

Now, Ziyech is a player who has not played much of a role in the Chelsea side this season and will likely return to the bench - at best - in the coming weeks with players returning from injury and with new faces having arrived in the transfer window.

However, he has shown his class with Ajax and it is apparent the Blues are wary of Eddie Howe helping the Moroccan to rediscover this form and help Newcastle secure that spot in the top four.