Newcastle United are ready to pounce and scupper Stoke City's deal for Ukrainian international winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, according to reports. The 25-year-old winger is available on a free transfer this summer having let his Dnipro Dnipropetovsk deal run down and he has been courted by Mark Hughes' Potters for months. However, the Daily Mirror report that Stoke are stalling on Konoplyanka's £100,000-a-week wage demands - and that could open the door for Newcastle. It is hard to see the Magpies agreeing to such personal terms, but Konoplyanka is a 45-cap international who has been named Ukrainian player of the year on three separate occasions, so that could convince Newcastle that it is a deal worth making. A return of 10 goals from 45 Ukraine caps is also impressive - as is the eight strikes he netted in 39 appearances for Dnipro in 2014-15 as he helped the unfancied side to the Europa League final, where they narrowly lost 3-2 Sevilla. The 5ft 10in winger has been touted as one of Europe's most-promising youngsters in recent years and Liverpool supposedly met Konoplyanka's £16 million buyout clause in January 2014, only for Dnipro to refuse to allow him to leave. In 209 career appearances for Dnipro, for who he came through the youth ranks, Konoplyanka has netted 45 times. Such inflated wages are likely to put Newcastle off any prospective deal - but the fact Konoplyanka is available on a free transfer does give some semblance to this rumour. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC 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.
