Newcastle United have had a rough time this summer and manager Eddie Howe must feel like he is suffering setbacks at every turn. Star striker Alexander Isak is pushing to leave, and the two top targets the Magpies identified to replace him, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko, have snubbed them for Liverpool and Manchester United respectively.
Two other prominent targets, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, have also fallen by the wayside courtesy of the Red Devils, while Joao Pedro and Liam Delap went to Chelsea, Dean Huijsen signed for Real Madrid and James Trafford sealed his return to Manchester City.
Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale remain the only senior signings Newcastle have made this summer. On top of their pursuit of a new centre-forward, which would unlock Isak’s move to Liverpool, the Toon are also believed to be on the hunt for a central defender.
TMW claim that Newcastle verbally submitted a £26million offer for AC Milan star Malick Thiaw this week. This is believed to meet the valuation of San Siro bosses, but manager Massimiliano Allegri could try and put the brakes on the move because he ‘values Thiaw highly’.
In another dose of hard luck, Newcastle have been quoted more than Thiaw would have cost earlier in the current window. Reports indicate that Italian side Como had agreed a £21.7m deal with Milan before the player rejected the switch.
Now, Howe and co. face the prospect of having to pay more than their rival suitors offered because of an unfortunate change in circumstances. Milan have been linked with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic and it has been claimed that Thiaw could be involved in a swap deal for the Serb.
The Rossoneri are therefore demanding more money for Thiaw as a sale to any club other than Juve could hinder their chances of landing Vlahovic. Newcastle will be keeping their fingers crossed for a speedy resolution as they approach the end of a turbulent window.
Thiaw, 23, rose through the ranks with Schalke before signing for Milan in 2022. He has made 85 first-team appearances since, scoring once, and he made his senior Germany debut the year after landing at the San Siro.
Newcastle are also staring down the barrel in their pursuit of Yoane Wissa. Al-Nassr are reportedly prepared to meet Brentford’s valuation of the forward, which threatens to leave the Toon empty-handed two weeks after seeing a £25m bid turned down.