West Brom and Newcastle to battle for William Carvalho

Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho was initially poised to join West Brom but Newcastle have entered the picture by registering their interest in the player.

According to The Birmingham Mail, West Brom had been keeping tabs on Carvalho for the past few seasons and even had a bid for the Portuguese defensive midfielder turned down last summer. Sporting Lisbon value him at £39 million but West Brom were only willing to fork out £30 million, which was still more than twice their transfer record.  

However, Newcastle are now planning to take advantage of West Brom's reluctance to fork out the full £39 million and will meet Sporting's asking price to bring the 25-year-old midfielder to St. James' Park. 

Carvalho had another solid season for Sporting Lisbon, appearing 29 times and scoring two goals in the league. He was also in Portugal's Euro 2016-winning squad.  

Tony Pulis has always been a fan of the player as he could easily adapt and excel in Pulis' style of play which focuses heavily on defending and containment. However, Newcastle are ready to splash the cash and have owner Mike Ashley's full backing to go on a spending spree this summer to equip the team in their return to the top flight. 

Newcastle have already signed Christian Atsu from Chelsea and are also expected to bring Andros Townsend back to the club.