Michael O’Neil has responded to speculation linking Tyrese Campbell with a £20 million move to Premier League strugglers Newcastle United, telling the Stoke Sentinel that the striker is on ‘a long-term contract’.
If Campbell wants to play top-flight football in 2022/23, well, maybe he’s better off staying where he is.
O’Neill’s Stoke side retained their place in the Championship’s play-off spots with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough this weekend, some 24 hours before Newcastle were thumped 4-0 by a Youri Tielemans-inspired Leicester City.
So while Saudi-backed Newcastle may be as rich as Croesus these days, their status as the most deep-pocketed football club in England will certainly be undermined if they are plying their trade against Luton rather than Liverpool next season.
Could Newcastle land Stoke’s Tyrese Campbell?
The Sun reported earlier in December that Newcastle were lining up a £20 million January deal for the highly-rated Campbell, a player Eddie Howe wanted during his time in charge of AFC Bournemouth.
And while O’Neill was reluctant to give too much away, he did point out that Stoke are under no pressure to cash in on arguably their most naturally-talented player midway through the campaign.
“I have no idea to be honest whether it’s just paper talk or whether there’s a genuine interest. But the bottom line is that Tye’s on a long-term contract,” explained the former Northern Ireland boss.
Campbell has been limited to just three Championship starts in 2021/22 after recovering from a serious fitness issue.
“He’s come back from a long-term injury and he needs to get playing again the way he was pre-injury,” O’Neill adds.
“We certainly saw signs of that last Sunday and any situation like that, you only really give it air time or attention if it arises.”
Newcastle are understood to be prioritising a central midfielder and a commanding centre-half over a new striker in the January window.
Florian Grillitsch and Albert Rusnak are among those to have been linked in recent days.
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