Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is likely to be entering the transfer market this summer for a central defender, if recent reports are to be believed.

The likes of Joe Gomez, John Stones and Jason Denayer have both been linked recently with a transfer to the club, while Dan Burn arrived from Brighton in January to help bolster the squad.

However, it seems that their shortlist is ever-growing, as a new potential summer target has emerged, with the Magpies being linked with Galatasaray defender Victor Nelsson.

What's the news?

Newcastle were among two other clubs with scouts in attendance watching the Danish defender in his team's Europa League Round of 16 defeat against Barcelona, according to Turkish news outlet Fanatik.

While the other clubs in attendance were Italian giants AC Milan and Napoli, with the Premier League club being the richest in the world, they certainly have enough money to tempt the former Copenhagen prospect to become a key part of their exciting project.

With a release clause of just £21m too, the 23-year-old could prove to be a bargain too if he hits the ground running in the Premier League, and they could even tempt the Turkish club with a lower offer too.

Potential to shine in the Prem

Described as Galatasaray's "Danish lion" by one of the club's board members Reşit Ömer Kükner on Twitter, Nelsson has become one of the team's key players since arriving in the country for £6.3m this Summer, making 35 appearances already in all competitions and scoring one goal.

The defender is also yet to make an error leading to a goal - and kept an impressive five clean sheets in eight Europa League games before being knocked out of the competition on Thursday, having pocketed Barca attacker Ferran Torres in the first leg particularly.

According to FBRef, he ranks in the top 1% among centre-backs in Europe's top five leagues and continental competitions for least amount of times being dribbled past per 90 (0.13), top 2% for percentage of aerials won per 90 (77.8%) and top 2% for short pass completion percentage per 90 (96.2%).

His aggression and physicality make him well suited to the Premier League, and with him not turning 24 until October, he could become a mainstay at the heart of the Newcastle defence for years to come - which would make him a dream signing for Howe and PIF.