Newcastle are looking to bolster their midfield for next season and are considering an approach to Chelsea for Ross Barkley, according to a report.
Barkley, 27, had an up-and-down season on loan at Aston Villa last season but Newcastle are monitoring his situation as they look to add a box-to-box midfielder to their squad, according to The Athletic.
The report says Newcastle 'hold an interest' in Barkley as well as Chelsea's Conor Gallagher.
And they would be keen in signing the former England international even if they end up bringing Joe Willock back to the club after an exceptional loan spell from Arsenal in the latter half of last season.
Barkley was once seen as English football's next big hope when he was rising through Everton's youth system but a series of serious injuries have hampered his progress.
He earned a £15million move to Chelsea in January 2018 but never got a clean run in the team under Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri or Frank Lampard.
Lampard showed faith in him early on in his first season at Chelsea before sidelining him after some poor displays as well as off-the-field incidents, such as going to a nightclub a few days before a Champions League trip to Valencia.
He was given a new lease of life last year with a promising start to the loan spell at Villa as he scored and starred in the incredible 7-2 win over champions Liverpool in his second game.
But a hamstring injury in November forced him out for two months and he struggled to return to form.
He was also in the headlines again for the wrong reasons when he was caught flouting coronavirus restrictions by partying with Jack Grealish in London in December.
He was then left humiliated when Villa coach Dean Smith dropped him for a game with Leeds, turning to teenager Jacob Ramsey instead.
Smith said at the end of the campaign that Barkley 'started the season like a house on fire' before the injury and was then inconsistent, but added: 'One thing I can say about him is he has never shied from a challenge at all. He has been a credit to himself, certainly on the training ground with us.'