Newcastle United Football Club hope to arrange a sensational loan swap deal involving Federico Macheda and Steven Taylor.

Chris Hughton is keen to add more firepower to his promotion-chasing side in the New Year, and Manchester United’s Macheda is amongst his list of targets.

The young Italian burst onto the first team scene last season with crucial goals against Aston Villa and Sunderland, but his chances have been limited this term.

The News of the World claim the Championship leaders are set to offer defender Steven Taylor to the Reds in exchange for the 18-year-old former Lazio youngster.

Sir Alex Ferguson has plenty of injury problems in his back four, which has recently seen the likes of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher fill in as emergency stoppers.

Get all the latest news on your club. Visit 360 Football, the best football news aggregator on the web!