The 6ft 4in Marc Guehi transfer alternative for Newcastle United ahead of January decision

Newcastle United continue to keep tabs on 6ft 4in Italian defender Giorgio Scalvini. The 20-year-old has alerted a number of Premier League sides including Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United but neither of United's rivals have made a move for Scalvini yet.

The Chiari-born star is a regular with Atalanta and picked up a Europa League winners medal last season after Bayer Leverkusen were swept aside in the Dublin final. A clutch of clubs are monitoring his return date with the defender due back after a cruciate injury.

He is contracted until 2028 with the Serie A side but his wages would weigh in a lot cheaper than many centre-back alternatives in the market. And assessing the market for value - with PSR conditions still very much active - is where Eddie Howe is with his backroom and scouting team at the moment.

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United did not pull off a £60million deal for Marc Guehi but the overall package for a younger player like Scalvini would be a smart way to operate in the winter market. With Sven Botman also nearing his return from a knee injury, there is less pressure on signing a senior centre-back right now compared to last summer.

Whether Newcastle return to Crystal Palace for a revised bid for the England centre-back's services remains to be seen. When asked about the prospect of new faces in January, Eddie Howe was cautious when asked last week.

He said then: "It's unpredictable at the moment. It's very difficult to see what is going to happen. I know no one wants to hear it, but January is always a difficult window in every window so I don't think we should necessarily go into it expecting any different to any other previous January.

"Transfer trading, generally, was down last summer compared to the previous summer so will this January follow suit and it's quieter across the board? Possibly, yes. These are things that don't go in favour of a busy window so without wanting to make predictions, I'd be surprised if it deviated from that."