Crystal Palace Join Hunt For 18-Goal Forward As Newcastle Sweat On Transfers

Crystal Palace have re-entered the race to sign Charlie Austin from Queens Park Rangers this summer as Alan Pardew looks to scupper Newcastle United's chances of acquiring their primary striking target. The Magpies want to bring Austin to the North East this summer but they now face competition from yet another southern club for Austin's signature - and that could tempt the QPR forward to opt for a London side instead of Newcastle. Leicester City had a £12 million bid for the forward rejected by QPR last week and Newcastle are reluctant to go higher than this fee due to Austin's previous knee and shoulder problems. And that could bring Palace into the equation, with The Sun claiming they will look to renew their interest in Austin.

The Magpies look set to do battle with the likes of Chelsea, AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion, Southampton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa for the forward€™s signature this summer following QPR€™s relegation to the Championship - but the west London club want upwards of £15 million for the forward. The striker is itching for a move and whatculture.com/nufc understands that Austin would contemplate a transfer to Newcastle - yet the Tyneside club could miss out due to their lack of urgency in making an official bid for the 26-year-old, who may instead be tempted to remain in London. 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. They have turned their attention to the highly-coveted Austin, who will want to remain in the Premier League - and that cannot be with QPR next season following their relegation. 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.