Newcastle now set to raid Lazio for 25-year-old France international midfielder - they want £25m

Eddie Howe is continuing his mission to transform Newcastle United into a title-winning side by looking for transfer bargains that will take the Magpies to the next level without breaking the bank.

Thanks to Profit and Sustainability Rules, Newcastle can't just buy the world's best players on a whim and so Eddie Howe and his team have to be clever, looking for players with potential that they can eke out that extra performance from, or finding young players they can mould into stars.

A report from La Gazetta dello Sport in Italy is now suggesting that Newcastle and Aston Villa have their eye on Lazio's former Arsenal midfielder, Matteo Guendouzi.

They claim that Villa have already made a £21million bid for the eight-times capped France international, but Lazio won't be moved unless a £25m bid comes in.

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Lazio are in no hurry to part with Matteo Guendouzi

Lazio are in the middle of a managerial change and it's thought that incoming boss Marco Baroni doesn't want to sell.

Guendouzi hasn't indicated he wants to leave either, despite not getting along with previous boss Igor Tudor. It seems then, that Villa and Newcastle do face an uphill battle for his signature.

The 25-year-old joined Lazio on loan from Marseille on deadline day last summer with that deal since being turned into a full transfer.

Guendouzi has improved greatly at Marseille and Lazio since he left Arsenal and could be tempted to have another crack at the Premier League.

Guendouzi is versatile but is he better than what we have?

Guendouzi spent two seasons at Arsenal making over 80 appearances in all competitions playing centre midfield or as a central defensive midfielder.

Newcastle are reportedly on the lookout for a central defensive midfielder, but Guendouzi has rarely played that position since leaving Arsenal instead moving to more of a central role, or even sometimes as an advanced midfielder.

The only way this move makes sense for us is if he comes in as a CDM, otherwise we can't see him troubling the established midfield that we have right now. We're not sure we've got much faith in this one.