Newcastle’s chief scout Graham Carr has been as hard at work as ever in recent weeks, as yesterday manager Alan Pardew revealed he was once again in France this weekend, but Carr has also spent a lot of time in The Netherlands over the last couple of months.

It is thought that Carr has been on the lookout for additions to Newcastle’s backline, with PSV’s Eric Pieters and FC Twente’s Douglas both under close inspection, but Pardew himself joined Carr in Amsterdam to take a look at some of the talent at Ajax.

Jan Vertonghen is wanted by a host of Premier League clubs and last week we reported that his central defensive partner Toby Alderweireld is also attracting Newcastle, while the Magpies are also on the lookout for reinforcements further forward.

Ajax midfielder Siem de Jong has been under Pardew’s microscope. The 23-year-old Swiss-born midfielder is in fact a senior Dutch international, playing once for Holland in his career to date.

He has notched up over 100 appearances for Ajax, featuring mainly in the middle of the park but also up top at times when required, netting 50 times in all competitions.

Siem is part of a talented football family, as he’s the older brother of FC Twente striker Luuk de Jong, who has also been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past and possibly even Newcastle.

Siem de Jong is valued at around five million Euros and will be sure to want to test himself at a higher level at some period in his career, but whether that’s next season we’ll have to wait and see.

Here’s Siem in action last season…

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