Newcastle United
Premier League • England
Newcastle exclusive: Howe goes cool on £35m Milan centre-back as two other options hold sway
Newcastle have cooled their interest in Milan's Malick Thiaw
TEAMtalk can reveal that Newcastle has cooled their interest in signing a top Serie A centre-back this summer due to two determining factors, while a pair of alternatives remain in play.
The Magpies have already landed one central defender in Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer from Bournemouth, but Eddie Howe wants to get another on board after the club suffered in that position last season due to injuries to Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles and, to a lesser extent, Fabien Schar.
The addition of the versatile at least gives Newcastle another strong option centrally as well as at left-back, but the continued chase to bring in another body shows that Howe is still not completely satisfied with his options.
The St James’ Park outfit are still doing internal evaluations of their options and AC Milan star Malick Thiaw remains on the list.
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However, the Premier League outfit have doubts over the player’s physical condition and are also put off by Milan’s price tag set at around £35m for the 22-year-old – especially given their fitness concerns.
At this stage, no offer has been made by Newcastle to the Rossoneri for Germany international Thiaw.
Newcastle pushing for other targets
This aspect is making the Magpies push towards other targets, with TEAMtalk previously revealing the club’s concrete interest in signing Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi.
The England international, who was one of the Three Lions’ standout performers in the run to the Euro 2024 final, is currently under contract until the summer of 2026 and there is a feeling that a deal could be struck at around £50m.
Vitao from Internacional de Porto Alegre is another profile under the radar and he has been proposed through intermediaries, with Newcastle taking him into consideration.
However, Howe’s men will likely face stiff competition for the Brazilian, with West Ham having already approached him after collecting info and Real Betis also advanced in talks with Vitao, reaching a general understanding on personal terms in the process.
But whatever happens, it appears that Newcastle transfer chiefs are determined to get another centre-back on board before August 30 to make sure that Howe has the cover in place to avoid the issues that hit the club hard last season, especially early in the Champions League group stage.
The Tyneside outfit kick off the new Premier League season with a home game against newly-promoted Southampton on Saturday August 17.