ATLANTA UNITED have leaped to the front of the queue for Miguel Almiron, with the MLS side have held talks over the Newcastle United forward in the last 24 hours.

Almiron was the subject of strong interest from another US side, Charlotte FC, earlier this month, but those talks have been shelved after an agreement proved elusive.

Charlotte have switched their focus to the pursuit of former England international Wilfried Zaha, which has opened the door for Atlanta to make their own move for Almiron.

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Atlanta, who are also hoping to sign Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, this month, are understood to be in advanced talks with the Newcastle hierarchy over Almiron, who was a second-half substitute in this evening’s 3-0 win over Wolves.

The Magpies will allow Almiron to leave for around $10m (£8.2m) this month, with the 30-year-old having made just a single Premier League start this season.

Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro have also held talks over Almiron, but have not yet matched Newcastle’s valuation of the Paraguayan.

If he is to leave Tyneside this month, Almiron would ideally like to return to the United States, having previously played for Atlanta prior to joining Newcastle.

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The Magpies have also held discussions over Lloyd Kelly with Turkish side Fenerbahce, with the centre-half also having been on the substitutes’ bench this evening.

Fenerbahce have proposed both a loan deal and a permanent transfer for Kelly, but the financial figures they quoted were nowhere near what Newcastle would accept for a player who joined them as a free agent after leaving Bournemouth last summer.

Eddie Howe has previously said that he does not want to lose anyone this month, and speaking after his side’s win over Wolves, which took them up to fourth in the table, he claimed he was unaware of any transfer developments.

Howe said: “I’ve got nothing to give you on that. I’ve been preparing for the game. I know there’s lots of rumours about lots of different things, but nothing has hit me yet.”

When asked directly about the Almiron situation, he added: “It’s the same (with Almiron as with Kelly). Nothing has hit me or come across my radar.”