Giovanni van Bronckhorst is expecting Newcastle United’s chase for Nicolai Jorgensen to go right down to the wire this month.
The Feyenoord boss has insisted he does not want to lose the Danish international despite the Magpies already slapping in two bids for the striker in the January window.
United’s attempts to sign the former Bayer Leverkusen man were kept under wraps at first, but the deal has since turned into a hot topic for the Newcastle faithful who are desperate to see a new striker signed up before the window closes.
Van Bronckhorst, though, hinted that Newcastle’s interest isn’t going away and he said: “Could we face a situation where we lose Nicolai 24 hours before the deadline?
“That would be tough for us.
“But crazy things happen in the last stage of the transfer window.
“This is why we look at our own list of targets for a replacement if necessary.
“But what makes is hard for us is that the names on our list, might not be available at such a late stage or in the winter window.”
Feyenoord’s stance is understandable given the window is coming to a close, and United also find themselves in a similar position with Aleksandar Mitrovic - who they state won’t be sold if they can’t find a replacement.
Van Bronckhorst, who was no stranger to big money moves himself as a player, also made it clear he doesn’t want to sell the 27-year-old, he added: “I don’t want to lose him at all.
“I want him to stay here and I want to keep the team together, which we have built.
“Nicolai is an important player. He was our top scorer last season.
“He helped us win the league for the first time in 18 years.
“It means he had a major contribution with all his goals (21 in the league).”
Yet Van Bronckhorst knows that Dutch clubs are vulnerable when Premier League sides try to lure them to the Premier League.
He went on: “When the bigger clubs from the Premier League come in, they can just take your player.
“Their financial power is huge, so much bigger than ours.
“It is difficult to compete.”
Van Bronckhorst also revealed that the talks are continuing between United and the De Kuip Stadium outfit.
He said: “I know the clubs (Newcastle and Feyenoord) are in contact.
“I am waiting to hear from our director of football Martin van Geel if there is an update on the situation.’’
As it stands, Jorgensen remains a Feyenoord player, and Van Bronckhorst already has his name etched on his team sheet this weekend.
The former Rangers and Arsenal man said: “Right now I am counting on playing Nicolai on Sunday in our home game against Den Haag.
“In midweek he did not play because of a one-game suspension.’
“I knew Nicolai is being looked at by a lot of clubs.
“As top scorer in Holland, a striker in the Danish national team, going to the World Cup, he is a player who is wanted on the international transfer market.”