Newcastle United have been unfortunate to lose Sandro Tonali for the rest of the season. Having signed the midfielder from Juventus in the last window, they obviously didn't expect old gambling rule-breaking to come back and haunt him and them.

There's been much talk about signing a replacement in the winter transfer window, and Ruben Neves was pushed forward as the obvious option. Having excelled for years at Wolves, Neves moved to Saudi Arabia and it was thought Newcastle could get a favourable loan.

Premier League club have been taking steps to ban such loans, and if they're successful, Newcastle won't be able to take the former Wolves player in January.

There had been Portuguese claims Neves would be keen on a return to English football, yet it appears he'll have to wait. Calciomercato report Newcastle have already set their sights on an alternative. That's Teun Koopmeiners, who it's stated the Magpies 'would like to go for'.

According to Calciomercato, such a move would cost Eddie Howe's side EUR50-60m.

Whether they'd be as keen as presented isn't clear. There would be several options available around that amount, so there's time for further potential avenues to be explored.