Newcastle interested in £2k-p/w Chelsea target with same agent as Trippier

Newcastle have been credited with interest in making an early move for a star making waves in Serie A, with the Premier League seemingly his next destination.

Newcastle struggle in summer window

It was a tough summer for Newcastle United, who went into the window with high hopes of continuing their push to join the Premier League elite but ended it with a net profit of £22m.

Forced to part ways with young duo Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson for financial fair play reasons at the beginning of the window, Eddie Howe’s side pushed hard to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, only to see several bids rejected and ending up without their no.1 centre-back target.

It meant that the Magpies spent just £43m across the summer, bringing in two goalkeepers as well as William Osula from Sheffield United, while Lloyd Kelly arrived on a free transfer after his contract at Bournemouth expired.

Speaking after the window, Sporting director Dan Ashworth put their lack of spending down to a “Newcastle tax” clubs applied knowing that they are backed by the wealthy Saudi Public Investment Fund, making them the richest club in world football on paper.

“The [Newcastle tax] was a real thing,” he explained. “It’s about setting precedents to the market that we will pay fair value for the right profile [of player] for sure.

“It shouldn’t be misconceived of a lack of ambition, I just think that’s the model you have to work in the modern game now. There’s a lot of common factors that we need to adjust to make sure we keep being sustainably successful.”

But money is there to be spent, and now Newcastle have been tipped to dip into their reserves to battle two more Premier League clubs for an exciting teenager.

Newcastle join race for Patrick Dorgu

That comes as reports in Italy credit Newcastle with an interest in young Lecce defender Patrick Dorgu, who is impressing at club level and made his Denmark debut over the most recent international break.

The full back has three years left to run on his £2,000 a week deal with the Serie A side, but there are strong indications that he will not be seeing out his time with Lecce.

Tottenham and Chelsea have both previously been linked with a move for the young left-back, and as per Gazzetta della Sport [Via Sport Witness], Newcastle are now a side to “watch out” for.

They claim that any move for Dorgu could happen as early as January, with suitors hoping to use the winter window to agree a deal for that summer, while Dorgu would presumably remain in Italy for the second half of the campaign.

The defender is represented by CAA Base agency, who also work on behalf of current Newcastle skipper Kieran Trippier, among a whole host of other top flight names. He is thought to be valued in excess of €30m, but it is added that Lecce are willing to let him leave next year before they can become hostages to his contract running down and losing out on a potentially massive fee.

It remains to be seen whether Newcastle will opt to move for the versatile Dane, with Lewis Hall having only just arrived and ably supported by Dan Burn at left-back as things stand, while Matt Targett is also an option in that position.

However, the chance to sign one of Europe’s hottest properties may prove too good to turn down, and his arrival would certainly represent a massive statement of intent on Tyneside.