Newcastle United made a late inquiry to Manchester United to check on the availability of their midfielder Scott McTominay ahead of deadline day.

What's the latest?

The Toon are going into deadline day with just one January deal over the line in Anthony Gordon but it does seem as if they are still targeting some late moves.

And a potential midfield option could well be high up on that list with their veteran midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey, set to leave the club over the coming hours for Nottingham Forest.

One of the names to be heavily linked with a potential move to St. James' Park in these final hours is the Sheffield united ace Sander Berge.

However, speaking on the Talking Transfers podcast, journalist Graeme Bailey has suggested the Magpies have enquired over the availability of McTominay - albeit an unsuccessful enquiry:

(27:50) "Newcastle again inquired about McTominay, again just double-checking and you meant that didn't you? He's definitely not available? Okay, thanks. We'll be back in the summer.

"So they were just double-checking McTominay wasn't around because again he would have been a nice loan for them, perfect to come in."

Could have landed a gem

With Shelvey headed for a future away from Newcastle, Eddie Howe's midfield will lose an awful lot of experience in the middle of the park.

Although McTominay is still just 26-years-old, he is a player with vast experience for the Red Devils with 194 appearances across all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

And it is to little surprise that United would be unwilling to offload the Scotsman at this stage of the transfer window with the midfielder still playing an important squad role.

However, his role over the last year has seen a change with the arrivals of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen seeing his starts in the United side reduced with just seven in the league this season.

But with the Brazilian suspended for their previous outing against Arsenal, it was the 26-year-old who Erik ten Hag called upon to fill in for the experienced midfielder.

And given the midfielder ranks in the top one percentile for clearances as well as the upper sixth percentile for ariel duels won, he could have proven a solid defensive midfield addition to Eddie Howe's side (via Fbref).

Although it seems a deal this month is off the cards, it was interesting to hear Bailey suggest they will be back in the summer for the midfielder.