Newcastle United won’t be signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles with the Arsenal man now on the verge of signing for Southampton.
Arsenal have been dealt a couple of blows in midfield over the last few days.
Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny are both out injured and it’s unclear just when the pair will return.
That means Arsenal may now be looking to bring in another midfielder but they are still happy to let Maitland-Niles go.
The Mirror reported on Tuesday that the midfield injuries won’t change Arsenal’s plans for Maitland-Niles and he is indeed on his way out of Arsenal.
Newcastle United won’t be signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Newcastle were one of the club thought to be in the race to sign Maitland-Niles.
TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook reported on Tuesday that Newcastle were looking to sign the 25-year-old ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Newcastle would no doubt love to sign a new midfielder anyway, but an injury to Bruno Guimaraes has heightened that need.
Add in an injury to Emil Krafth and a right back is also needed, with Maitland-Niles capable of playing in both positions.
You can therefore understand why Newcastle may have felt that Maitland-Niles was ideal for what they needed.
Fabrizio Romano now reports that Southampton are closing in on a deal to sign Maitland-Niles, beating Newcastle to his signature.
Romano claims it’s a loan with option to buy, with Maitland-Niles set for a medical with the Saints.
The Athletic add that Southampton have been long-term admirers of Maitland-Niles and are finally signing him having been close to a deal in January.
Clearly out of Mikel Arteta’s plans at Arsenal, Maitland-NIles needs to play regular first-team football now and Southampton will hopefully provide that.
Newcastle will now need to go back to the drawing board if they want a new signing before tomorrow’s deadline.
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