Newcastle United face an uphill task to convince Dean Huijsen to move to St James' Park.

Huijsen is the hottest property in the Premier League after a breakout season for Bournemouth.

He is expected to leave the Vitality Stadium in the summer transfer window.

Newcastle are in the market for a centre-back, despite handing Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schar new contracts.

The i Paper understands they have held talks with Huijsen's representatives, but there is a feeling his interest lies elsewhere.

Newcastle want to act quickly to strengthen their squad, especially with European football a guarantee, and do not want to be drawn into lengthy transfer sagas like their failed pursuit of Marc Guehi 12 months ago.

Ironically Guehi remains on the club's radar but insiders feel that, even with more room for manoeuvre from a profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) point of view, there remains the need to box clever and they will not overpay.

The Magpies have worked hard to dispel the notion that they have unlimited resources and walked away from the Guehi deal after feeling a "Newcastle tax" was being applied to the price.

Director of football Paul Mitchell had been confident of brokering the deal despite misgivings from some at the club that the transfer was impossible.

Those issues explain why Newcastle are in the mix for two players with set release clauses – Ipswich Town's Liam Delap and Huijsen, who recruitment specialists believe can become one of the best defenders in the world.

The i Paper understands that Arsenal have now thrown their hat in the ring for Huijsen, joining favourites Chelsea and Liverpool as the clubs ready to activate his £50m release clause.

As well as sizeable wage demands, game time and Champions League football are priorities for Huijsen, who has recently broken into the Spain squad.

Newcastle currently sit third and head to Brighton this weekend for a game with huge potential ramifications in the race for Europe.

Recruitment plans have ramped up in recent weeks at St James' Park but there is an element of uncertainty around what they can do until they know whether they are playing Champions League football next season.

And while the club are sounding much more bullish about what they can do, a top-five place is a "game-changer" in terms of revenue and spending ability.

Football finance expert Professor Rob Wilson believes it would give them the chance to sign four new players.

"The only way the ownership group can begin to regenerate their squad and pay money for transfer and player wages is by bringing in new income and the Champions League is a game changer on that basis for Newcastle," he told The i Paper.

"It's 60m to 80m Euros, guaranteed, and from a PSR perspective, that is going to be incredibly helpful, because it gives them headroom they might not have had otherwise.

"My feeling is that the Champions League revenue is the headroom because essentially what they have been doing is building their budgets in accordance with PSR. So any new income like this is simply topping up what they had.

"If we assume they were hitting the PSR requirement for this year and they have budgeted for next year they would have 80m Euros to play with. On the basis you amortise costs it is the equivalent of four players coming in on five-year contracts."

With or without Champions League football, there is an expectation that Newcastle will have to do some player trading this summer.

While Alexander Isak is off the table for potential suitors – his price tag has pushed Arsenal and Liverpool to explore other options – they will listen to offers for players on the fringes of the first team.

They also hold an interest in Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford and Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, whose manager Thomas Frank admitted that the club may listen to offers for him in the close season.

But with the Bees holding the option of extending his deal to 2027, they may follow the Ivan Toney blueprint of allowing him to run into the final year of his contract if no-one matches their valuation.

With so many conflicting priorities, it promises to be a major test of Mitchell's mettle, having had nearly a year to prepare for a big summer.