Newcastle could lose influential player this February, with European transfer window still open: report

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Newcastle United Head Coach Eddie Howe looks on during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park on February 05, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Michelle Mercer/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe (Image credit: Getty Images)

Newcastle could lose an influential member of their squad in February, despite the transfer window being closed for Premier League sides.

While some sides were extremely active in making signings, Eddie Howe's side completed an extremely quiet winter window this year, with no new players moving to Newcastle due to concerns over the Premier League's PSRs.

They did sell Miguel Almiron to Atlanta United, with Lloyd Kelly, Isaac Hayden and Alex Murphy all departing the club on loan. That might not be the last of the departures at Newcastle.

Newcastle could lose key squad member

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05: Jacob Murphy of Newcastle United (23) celebrates with teammates after scoring Newcastle's opening goal during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park on February 05, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Michelle Mercer/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

Newcastle celebrate reaching the League Cup final (Image credit: Getty Images)

After beating Arsenal 4-0 on aggregate on Wednesday night to confirm their spot against either Liverpool or Tottenham in the League Cup final next month, things are looking extremely positive around the club.

That has potential to change in the next week, however, with one of the sides influential players being targeted for a shock move.

Newcastle United's English midfielder #23 Jacob Murphy (rear R) celebrates with teammates after scoring his team first goal during the English League Cup semi-final second leg football match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England, on February 5, 2025. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Newcastle players celebrate at St. James' Park (Image credit: Getty Images)

According to ESPN, Galatasaray are keen on signing Kieran Trippier this February, with the Turkish transfer window deadline not until February 11.

Managed by Okan Buruk, Galatasaray are currently top of the Super Lig but want to add a full-back and centre-back to their squad for the second half of the campaign.

Trippier would have to complete the move by Thursday to be registered for Galatasaray's Europa League knockout stage squad, however, which seems extremely unlikely considering he played in Newcastle's 2-0 win against Arsenal on Wednesday night.

The report adds that a deal is "complicated", despite the 34-year-old having been limited to just five Premier League starts this season. Tino Livramento has moved ahead of him in the pecking order at St. James' Park, but, with Lloyd Kelly having departed for Juventus, Eddie Howe is reluctant to lose anymore defenders.

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Kieran Trippier of Newcastle in action during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United at City Ground on August 28, 2024 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Trippier could be set to leave (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo's view, this is certainly a deal that could happen, especially when considering Trippier has moved abroad - to Atletico Madrid - in the past. Whether this is a deal that gets concluded before the February 11 deadline, though, seems unlikely.

Trippier is valued at under £7m by Transfermarkt, with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2026. Newcastle are in FA Cup action at the weekend against Birmingham City.

Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.