Newcastle may decide to focus on a midfielder that Liverpool is already interested in signing after seemingly giving up on trying to sign another player who has been linked to both clubs.

According to Football Insider, the Magpies’ pursuit of Nicolo Barella, who has also been linked to a move to Liverpool, is about to come to an end because they are unwilling to pay Inter’s €70 million (£60 million) asking price and the Italian’s reluctance to sign with the Tyneside club.

As a result, Eddie Howe’s team could concentrate their efforts on trying to sign Khephren Thuram, with whom the Reds are in early negotiations about possibly joining forces with Jurgen Klopp’s team.

When Liverpool fans learn that Newcastle are interested in the Frenchman, they shouldn’t necessarily worry because it’s thought that the player, along with his father Lilian, still wants to play for Merseyside (Football Transfers).

The entry of the Magpies into the transfer race, however, could have one unfavorable effect for the Reds, as the presence of a new suitor may enable Nice to demand a price closer to the €60m (£51.3m) they are hoping to realize from selling him.

If the Ligue 1 club suddenly raised their demands after learning of the Tynesiders’ interest, that might put Jorg Schmadtke and the Anfield recruitment team to the test as they consider how far they would go to sign the 22-year-old.

Even if they win the race for Thuram, Liverpool will still need to find more players, so they must strike a balance. It would be unfortunate if their pursuit of the midfielder ended at this point, though, because they’ll still be looking for more players.

Now that the Reds appear to have moved on from Barella, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with Newcastle’s apparent desire to sign the Frenchman before the Reds do.