Reports in Italy claim that Newcastle have been in contact with Napoli over a move for striker Arkadiusz Milik, and are prepared to return with a concrete offer in the foreseeable.
Napoli are in a state of transition at present, to put it mildly. Despite winning the Coppa Italia in 2019/0, the club failed to qualify for the Champions League in last season's Serie A, while manager Gennaro Gattuso faces the daunting task of overseeing a rebuild within the team.
He has already secured the signing of highly rated Lille striker Victor Osmihen, who made his debut from the bench in Sunday's season-opener with Parma. However, one player who didn't feature in that game was Milik, who looks all-but certain to leave before the window closes in October.
Milik has scored 48 times in 122 appearances for the club, but has been firmly out of favour under Gattuso. He was close to securing a move to Roma, but that collapsed for reasons that haven't been explained.Could he be heading to the Premier League? That's what Corriere dello Sport think. The Italian paper say that Newcastle have been in talks with Napoli, and are ready to 'forcefully return' with a suitable offer in the near future.
The Magpies have already signed Callum Wilson, and have Joelinton and Andy Carroll eating up huge chunks of the wage bill, so it doesn't seem massively likely that they would invest heavily in another striker - especially given Steve Bruce's claims that they have to 'box clever' with their transfer business in the current financial climate.
Corriere dello Sport name Valencia as another alternative destination. They have financial troubles of their own to deal with, however, and will likely have to sell before they can buy another player.
Napoli's asking price for Milik comes in at around €30m (£27m) according to most reports. Tottenham and Everton are among a host of clubs who have been previously linked.
Source: 90min