Report: Newcastle United close to Ryan Fraser agreement amid Celtic speculation

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Former Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser is close to an agreement with Newcastle United, according to the BBC.

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie tweeted towards the end of last week that talks had been held but that no agreement was in place due to the player’s hefty wage demands.

Celtic, meanwhile, have continuously been mentioned as one of the clubs linked with the former Aberdeen winger’s services this summer (The Telegraph). With the player reportedly looking to move closer to his family in the Granite City, the Hoops’ location could’ve been ideal for him.

However, in addition to the BBC report, the Telegraph believe that the player has now held face-to-face conversations with Newcastle boss Steve Bruce, and also report that a deal is close to being done.

Speculation on anything concrete from Celtic’s side has been non-existent.

Money talks

A move to Glasgow just always looked far too optimistic on paper, especially with much of the talk surrounding the player being down to wage demands.

It’s well documented that the Hoops can’t compete with cash when it comes to Premier League rivals south of the border. What we all would’ve hoped is that Fraser had perhaps become a tad homesick and fancied a move back north.

But even the fact that the player had initially entered talks with Newcastle tells its own story. It’s never a move he would’ve made had he been itching to return to Scotland.

With the interest Celtic surely would’ve had in any potential deal, a place would’ve been found for him in Glasgow’s East End. Considering we’re also in real need of a rival for James Forrest, Fraser would’ve been slotting into an ideal position considering he can play on both flanks.

However, any logistics issue Fraser had will lessen substantially if he moves to Newcastle. It’s not exactly a stone’s throw away from Aberdeen, but it’s as northern as he could get whilst being able to realise his wage demands.

So a cross can more or less be put through this one. A move for Fraser was always going to be ambitious, and it appears he’s set to finalise his move to the Toon imminently.

In other news, Celtic have been told that they’ve just signed “a monster” by a Premier League coach.