Anthony Elanga is here but we still have at least three priority positions to fill, with a striker, centre-back and goalkeeper all needed.
James Trafford is clearly the top goalkeeper target and a few names have emerged in our search for a new forward, with one talented centre-back linked regularly over the past fortnight since interest in Marc Guehi has reportedly ‘cooled.’
That man is Atalanta’s Giorgi Scalvini, with Fabrizio Romano one of several journalists to report on our growing interest, along with The i’s Mark Douglas, Craig Hope at The Mail and The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards.
But the first to report on our interest was Italian journalist Matteo Moretto, who revealed we were in the mix for his signature three weeks ago now.
Speaking on Fabrizio Romano’s Youtube channel, Moretto has issued an update on our pursuit, claiming Newcastle are showing “very strong interest” and may have some joy IF we’re prepared to meet Atalanta’s €50m valuation:
“True, I repeat, Newcastle’s strong, very strong interest in Giorgio Scalvini.
“As of today, Atalanta has not dropped its fixed valuation of €50m (£43.2m) for Scalvini. So, in short, we’ll understand whether it could be a suitable investment for Newcastle or not.
“To date, there hasn’t been an official offer for Scalvini from Newcastle yet. Clearly, we’ll see if the situation can evolve in a certain sense or not.
“However, for Atalanta, who consider Scalvini a very important player, I would dare say he’s unsellable, but sometimes the word unsellable is also used for strategic reasons.
“Clearly, if an offer higher than €50m were to arrive, I believe that Atalanta could really evaluate him.”
Last week, the iPaper reported that Scalvini is ‘intrigued’ by a move to the Premier League, with Newcastle, Spurs and Man Utd all big admirers.
That same piece also said that Sandro Tonali has been telling his fellow Italian all about life on Tyneside and the impressive Eddie Howe, suggesting another of our current stars is playing a part in selling the move after Will Osula and Anthony Elanga.
