Newcastle and Crystal Palace reportedly keen on Rayan Ait-Nouri

Newcastle and Crystal Palace are keen on a January swoop for Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri in January, according to Jeunes Footeux.

They claim that both Eddie Howe and Patrick Vieira are looking to improve their options at left-back going into the second half of the season.

Jamal Lewis has performed impressively since Howe’s appointment, although his main source of cover is Matt Ritchie, who is a winger by trade.

Tyrick Mitchell is established at Palace, but Vieira apparently wants another young left-back to challenge him.

Newcastle are of course flush with cash after their recent takeover and looking to improve their squad for the relegation battle they find themselves in.

Another mega-rich club in Paris Saint-Germain have already been linked with Ait-Nouri in recent days and are reportedly ready to pay £30 million for him.

Wolves fans on Twitter laughed that one off, which is understandable given the form that Ait-Nouri has shown in recent weeks.

But if Wolves did get a serious, big-money offer like that in, they would likely consider it if it gave them cash to spend across the squad.

Former Wolves midfielder David Edwards called Ait-Nouri ‘super’ last month, and believes he is going to be a star.

And given he is tied down until 2026, perhaps his value will continue to rise if he stays at Wolves.

Looking at the options defensively at the clubs linked with him, there does not seem to be such a burning need for any of them to push the boat out and get him in in January.

But at clubs as rich as Newcastle and PSG, nothing can be ruled out and it remains to be seen if they are in the mood to genuinely test Wolves’ resolve.

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