"?Newcastle United want to offer winger Andros Townsend a new, £75,000-a-week deal to fend off interest from Crystal Palace.
The England international's current contract includes a £10.5m release clause, which the Eagles are keen to trigger, but Rafa Benitez wants to keep his star man and Toon bosses are preparing a bumper deal to keep Townsend on Tyneside.
Newspaper the "?Express reported the news that would make the former Tottenham Hotspur man the most highly paid player in the Championship, after it emerged that West Ham United and Southampton also want to bring the 24-year-old to their clubs.
If the negotiations go well and the upgraded terms agreed to, it will be a massive gamble from the Magpies as they begin their efforts to bounce straight back up to the Premier League.
Maintaining the wage bill that they have on their hands is going to be tricky enough on second tier money without adding a further £25,000-a-week to that tally. If they fail to return to the land of milk and honey at the first time of asking, it will put enormous strain on the United coffers.
There are a number of players on large deals that owner Mike Ashley will want to cut lose from St. James' Park, and they may be forced to do so now in order to free up enough cash to offer this contract.
Stars like Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse are almost certain to leave Newcastle, while Benitez may be thinking long and hard about the future of former Swansea City midfielder Jonjo Shelvey at the club.
Shelvey is also on a big deal, and it's unlikely that the club can afford to keep two players on long-term deals at such high value.
However, keeping Townsend would make a massive statement of intent to the rest of the league, and it will certainly enhance the Magpies' chances of achieving promotion. The 24-year-old is an excellent player, and will cause opposition defences all sorts of problems in the second tier.
He will also be a vital weapon for supplying the strikers, whoever they are, with crosses and passes into the box.
Giving Townsend a new deal is a big gamble by Toon bosses, but the pay off is so big that ultimately its worth the risk.
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