Keith Downie now says Newcastle United have 'agreement in principle' for Malick Thiaw - Saudi Tax to be paid
Newcastle United look to be closing in on their third summer signing as reports are suggesting that AC Milan and Newcastle have come to an agreement on a fee for centre-back Malick Thiaw.
The Magpies have held an interest in the German centre-back for a while now, looking at him last summer before focusing all their efforts on Marc Guehi.
After another summer of being rebuffed at every turn, it now looks as though Eddie Howe could finally get his man.
Keith Downie posted on X earlier that the Magpies and Milan have an agreement in principle, and Thiaw is keen on the move.
Newcastle are expecting Malick Thiaw for a medical in the next 48 hours
After breaking the news (and adding four years to Thiaw's age in the process), Downie followed up his post with further clarification that the agreed fee is £30 million + £4.4 million in add-ons.
🚨 🤝 Newcastle now have an agreement in principle with AC Milan to sign Malick Thiaw.
💰 #NUFC will pay Milan £35m for the defender.
✍🏼 The 28-year-old [sic] is expected to sign a 4-year contract.
👨🏻⚕️ Thiaw expected to have his Newcastle medical in Tyneside in the next 48 hours.
Thiaw is heading to England tomorrow after Milan took on Leeds United in Dublin today.
Newcastle are having to pay way more than the bid that was accepted by Milan earlier this summer for Malick Thiaw
It seems as though Newcastle have finally accepted that they will have to pay Saudi Tax on some players, given that AC Milan had accepted a £21 million bid from Como for Thiaw earlier in the window. As soon as Newcastle show interest, though, he's suddenly indispensable unless they get another £14 million.
After the summer we've had, though, it's time to just start coughing up to get some deals done. The absolute abominations of performances we've watched in this pre-season suggest we are miles away from being a top squad. We may have a top team, but our squad is awful.
It's time to start paying, bringing in the players and hopefully, continuing to build on our success, which in turn should generate more money and a better reputation so we don't have to go through all of this again.
