Wales international midfielder Aaron Ramsey could be the next Newcastle United sign on a free transfer from Italian side Juventus as Eddie Howe looks to add more midfield quality to his squad following a groin injury to star Joelinton at the weekend.

The Newcastle United squad have travelled to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for a warm-weather training camp during The Premier League's winter break during which they will play a friendly game against Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad on Friday night.

Like the signing of 31 year-old Kieran Trippier and 30 year-old Chris Wood, the Magpies acquisition of 31 year-old Welsh box-to-box midfielder Ramsey would instantly provide Eddie Howe with a player with vast experience.

Ramsey enjoyed 11 seasons at Arsenal between 2008 & 2019 playing 369 games in all competitions scoring 64 goals in total, 262 appearances in The Premier League scoring 40 times in England's top flight after being signed by Arsene Wenger from Cardiff City.

After more than a decade at Arsenal, Ramsey signed for Juventus as a free agent on a mega-contract of £400,000 per week that made him the highest paid player in British history on basic salary and it is this wage that The Old Lady are keen to remove from their wage bill in order to fund the deals that they hope will take them back to the top of Serie A from the lowly 5th place by their own high standards they currently occupy.

Ramsey scored 5 goals in 49 games in his first two seasons at the Allianz Juventus Stadium demonstrating the all-round technical ability, strong running, assists and goals that made him such a hit in English football and on the international scene with the Wales national side. He has won 71 caps and scored 20 goals for his country starring at Euro 2016 alongside Welsh galactico Gareth Bale and finished with the joint most assists in the tournament - 4 - with Eden Hazard - scoring once against Russia & was named in the Team of the Tournament as Wales reached the Quarter-Finals stage.

Wales are just two games away from a historic first World Cup qualification since 1958 and face Austria in a Play Off in March and, if successful, play the winners of Scotland and Ukraine for a place in the controversial Qatar 2022 tournament:

after drawing with Belgium 1-1 back in November to finish second in their group & part of Ramsey's thinking in coming to Newcastle will be to get in shape and form for those qualifiers and the run-up to the World Cup in December - and don't rule out a Magpies bid for his fellow Dragon Gareth Bale before the January transfer window shuts.

More on this developing story about Aaron Ramsey as it happens..