Newcastle United have attempted to hijack Tammy Abraham’s transfer to Swansea City, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper claim that both Rafael Benitez’s side and Celtic have made late moves for the Chelsea striker even though he has made up his mind to move to south Wales.
The Telegraph report that even since the news broke last week that Swansea had reached an agreement in principle with Abraham, 19, Newcastle and the Scottish giants have tried to persuade him to make an eleventh hour change of heart.
But it is said that those moves have failed and that Abraham will complete a loan move to the Liberty Stadium following the elimination of England Under-21s from the European Championships.
Abraham was part of the squad that suffered heartache at the hands of Germany and missed his spot-kick in the penalty shootout on Tuesday night.
He will return to England from Poland to wrap up a temporary transfer but will first sign a new contract with parent club Chelsea worth around £50,000-a-week.
The Mirror reported last week that Swansea had won the race for the in-demand teenager after beating off the stiff competition for his signature.
The teenager has come to prominence after blasting 26 goals during an exceptional loan spell at Championship side Bristol City last season.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins went public with his club’s interest in signing the Stamford Bridge ace on Monday of last week, although he said there was competition and no deal had been agreed at that point.
It would now now seem as though Newcastle have lost out on the England Under-21 international, who has opted to play alongside the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente at Swansea next season.
This is a blow to Newcastle manager Benitez, who is keen to strengthen his forward line-up as the club prepare for a return to the top flight following their promotion.