Newcastle United are plotting to strip Celtic of their Scottish Premier League-winning central-defensive partnership this summer - by signing both Virgil van Dijk and Jason Denayer. The Magpies have been heavily linked to £10 million-rated Van Dijk all season but reports now claim chief scout Graham Carr has cast a longing gaze at Denayer, who has spent the campaign on loan north of the border from Manchester City. The 19-year-old Belgian will not be allowed to make his move to Celtic permanent but Man City would be willing to let the 6ft 1in centre-back go on loan to a Premier League club - with Newcastle heading the queue, according to the Daily Star. One-cap Belgium international Denayer has made 42 appearances for Celtic this term, returning an impressive six goals from centre-back. Newcastle's defence has struggled to aid their team's scoring rate - but, if you add Van Dijk's 10 goals this campaign, then the centre-back pairing have netted 16 between them. And 23-year-old Van Dijk said on Tuesday that he would "definitely consider a transfer" this summer because he has become disillusioned with the lack of competition in the Scottish Premier League. Sunderland will likely offer North East rivals Newcastle competition for the signature of Van Dijk - and it could simply come down to if one of the two survives the drop this season as to who manages to convince the £10 million Dutchman to join them. Considered to be one of the finest talents north of the border, Van Dijk has been courted by a whole host of Premier League clubs, including Southampton and Arsenal. Van Dijk was capped three times by the Holland Under-21 side and he has made 170 career appearances in all for both Groningen and Celtic, scoring 22 times. If all this is to be believed, then Celtic's SPL-winning centre-back duo could be plying their trade in black-and-white stripes rather than green-and-white hoops next season... For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
