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Real Madrid may offer Newcastle United two of their young players in an attempt to drive down the price for Moussa Sissoko, who has returned to Tyneside but still expects to leave the club before the summer is out.

Fresh reports in Spain claim Real’s interest will intensify this week – something United would welcome as they fear Sissoko speculation could become a distraction the longer it drags on.

United slapped a £35million price tag on Sissoko after he excelled at Euro 2016 – a steep increase on the value they had of him before the tournament. And there is definite interest in Sissoko, who made no mention of his return to Tyneside on his social media accounts and – through his agents – has repeatedly told Newcastle he wants to move on.

There is confirmed interest from Everton, West Brom, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and La Liga giants Real Madrid – who have emerged as front runners for his signature.

Newcastle are certainly aware of the interest from Real, which came as a surprise to supporters on Tyneside who saw at first hand his inconsistency last term. But the club feel they could sell the signing to their supporters on the back of his performances at the Euros.

Now Newcastle are braced for potentially protracted negotiations with a club who will use their cache and the player’s obvious desire to move to Spain as a bargaining chip.

poll loading Which deal would you prefer for Sissoko? 2000+ VOTES SO FAR Straight cash Bring in the Real youngsters in part ex Don't sell - even for £35m

Reports abroad claim that Madrid will offer Newcastle two young players who Benitez knows from his time in Spain.

One is Marcos Llorente, the 21-year-old midfielder who has appeared for Spain under-19s. He has played 62 times for Real Madrid B but featured for the first team in pre-season and made his debut as a substitute in October last season.

A playmaker, Real describe him as “a very intelligent and determined midfielder, he is the team’s catalyst going forward, has an outstanding imagination and is able to beat a man. All of this allows him to enter the opposition’s area and create danger.”

The other player mentioned is Mariano Diaz, a powerful 23-year-old forward who scored against Chelsea in the International Champions Cup in pre-season last week.

A strong, powerful forward he has been described as the “future” of Real and scored 30 times in 40 games for the Real Madrid B side last season.

Zinedine Zidane said that he wants Diaz to get minutes on the pitch next season and will look to loan him out next term.

It is not clear whether they would be loan moves or permanent deals – but it may be immaterial. United have previously indicated that they are not interested in part-exchanges, preferring instead to bank the money and re-invest themselves.