Newcastle Transfer News: £15m Toon Target Reluctant To Leave London This Summer

Newcastle United look set to be thwarted in their bid to tempt Queens Park Rangers striker Charlie Austin to St James' Park - with the forward reluctant to move away from London this summer. Sources close to the 25-year-old claim he is settled in the capital and, although he is tempted by the opportunity to wear Newcastle's famous No 9 shirt, West Ham United remains a far-more likely destination. QPR want £15 million for the 6 ft 2in forward, a price the Magpies are currently unwilling to meet, and clubs such as Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur retain an interest in Austin.

The Express claim Southampton are also lining up a £10 million bid for Austin, and that could suit the former Burnley forward because it would be easy to commute to the south coast from his London base. Whatculture.com/nufc understand that Austin - who has a daughter, Avabella, with his fiancée Bianca Parker - is not keen on relocating to the North East, especially if he is likely to receive higher wages at a club such as West Ham. Austin was the fourth-top scorer in the Premier League in 2014-15 having bagged an impressive 18 goals despite playing for a side who finished bottom of the table and he has just a year left on his Loftus Road deal. Newcastle need to add firepower to their strikeforce because they managed just 40 Premier League goals throughout the entirety of the previous campaign - and top-scorer Papiss Cisse€™s future at the club is in doubt, meaning they will have just Ayoze Perez, Adam Armstrong and the goal-shy Emmanuel Riviere as forwards next year. Austin has scored 107 goals in 199 league games for Swindon, Burnley and QPR since the beginning of 2010. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.