Newcastle United are plotting a move to bring Donny van de Beek to St. James' Park in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Spanish publication Marca, who claim that the Magpies' have included the Manchester United attacking midfielder on their shortlist of transfer targets ahead of the upcoming winter market.

The report goes on to state that the 24-year-old has instructed his agent to secure him a move away from Old Trafford in January, and, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side would likely command a similar fee to the €40m (£34m) they paid for the midfielder in 2020, Marca suggest that Newcastle could be one of the few clubs able to meet United's asking price for the Netherlands international.

Howe must move

Considering just how much talent Van de Beek quite clearly possesses, something that is currently being rather criminally wasted by Manchester United, should Newcastle indeed have an opportunity to sign the midfielder this winter, it would appear highly advisable for Eddie Howe to do all he can to secure a deal for the Dutchman.

Despite the 24-year-old being awarded just one start by Solskjaer this season, Van de Beek has nevertheless proven in previous campaigns that he would make a fantastic addition to Howe's options in the middle of the pitch at St. James' Park.

Indeed, over his 23 Eredivisie appearances during his final season at Ajax in 2019/20, the £22.5m-rated man scored eight goals, registered five assists and created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Owen Hargreaves dubbed a "perfect" midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore rating of 7.32, ranking him as the joint 12th-best performer in the top flight of Dutch football.

And, while a move for such a talented player by a side who are occupying 19th place in the Premier League standings would usually seem rather unrealistic, considering Van de Beek's well-documented issues at United, the 24-year-old would more than likely jump at the chance to play in front of an adoring St. James' Park crowd on a regular basis.

As such, with Newcastle being a team who are heavily reliant on the goals of Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin - with the duo having scored 50% of the Magpies' Premier League goals this season - coupled with the Dutchman's desire to secure a move away from United, the signing of the forward-thinking £120k-per-week midfielder would make a great deal of sense for the Magpies.

In other news: Forget Shelvey: Howe must seal NUFC swoop for £27m-rated gem who "nobody plays like"