Fenerbahce hoped to sign Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly in January.
Kelly hasn’t made the impact many thought he would when he signed for Newcastle in the summer.
Newcastle rejected Fenerbahce’s approach for Kelly on Tuesday after their bid of £11million was deemed too low by Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell.
In his pre-match press conference, Howe stated that “Kelly never spoke to him about leaving Newcastle” and that all the rumours were from Fenerbahce’s side.
Newcastle are preparing to face AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday. Howe is eyeing a 10th straight win in all competitions, more than any other Newcastle manager has achieved before.
Howe is reluctant to sell Kelly in January as he doesn’t want to deplete his squad for the latter stages of the season. Newcastle sit fourth in the league, just three points off third place Nottingham Forest.
Now, a recent report has stated how much Newcastle were demanding for their defender.
Kelly is likely to be included in Newcastle’s first-team squad for the game against his former club on Saturday. A sign Howe is keen to keep him at the club.
According to Sercan Hamzaoglou, Fenerbahce have pulled out of the negotiations for Kelly after Newcastle slapped a €20m (£16.8m) price tag on the defender.
Despite the rejected bid, talks continued between the two clubs but the Turkish side are now reportedly unwilling to spend the money required on the 26-year-old.
Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho is keen on signing a left-sided defender after losing his original option Ferdi Kadioglu to Brighton in the summer.
Although he has only made 13 appearances for Newcastle this season. Kelly is a versatile option thanks to his ability to also play as a left-back.
Newcastle United, Lloyd Kelly için 20 milyon Euro istiyor. Kulübün sahibi Araplar olduğu için, Newcastle tam bir “tok satıcı” pazarlığı yaptı.
— Sercan Hamzaoğlu (@sercanhamzaolu) January 17, 2025
Bu istek üzerine Fenerbahçe, görüşmelere son verdi. https://t.co/518O7Fsfvg
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Newcastle need to sell before they can buy in January. Kelly joined as a free agent, so any fee Newcastle bags for him will be pure profit, a massive help for PSR.
Kelly hasn’t been the only Newcastle star with transfer interest in January. There are multiple players who could leave the club as sporting director Paul Mitchell looks to avoid a repeat of the summer transfer window.
Miguel Almiron is set to join Atlanta United in the coming days. Howe believes he will be available for the game against Bournemouth, a potential farewell for the 30-year-old.
Martin Dubravka’s future is still unknown. Dubravka looked set to join Al-Shabab earlier in the transfer window but Howe has since dug his heels in and ordered Newcastle chiefs to reject any approaches for the Slovakian.
Elsewhere, Everton want Sean Longstaff who is out of favour at Newcastle given how well Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton are playing.
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