Afellay, who is currently training with the Holland squad ahead of Euro 2012, joined Barcelona from Dutch side PSV in January 2011, but he has struggled for match time since, featuring just five times last season following complex knee surgery that ruled him out for seven months.
The long-running injury problems have been common place in Afellay's career so far, but sensing an opportunity for profit given their £2.3 million outlay 18 months ago, Barcelona have put the 26-year-old up for sale and believe his starting berth for Holland at the Euro's will be a perfect platform to boost his price.
The La Liga runners-up are desperately trying to raise extra cash to help fund a summer of spending, and offloading Afellay and his wages is a priority, with the Dutchman not lacking potential suitors.
North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham are both long-term admirers of the player, with Gunners skipper Robin van Persie enjoying a close personal relationship, while Spurs have twice failed with loan-to-buy offers in recent years.
However, Newcastle are now believed to be the front runners for Afellay, with the only question mark being whether the fleet-footed playmaker would want to move to the North East.
The Magpies have around £20 million to spend this summer, and could easily afford the £6 million asking price, plus healthy wages of around £80,000-a-week.
Afellay, who is also a long-term target for Liverpool, is contracted to Barcelona until 2015.
(
