Newcastle now told they must pay £42m to land AC Milan star - Price may not be the biggest hurdle

Lloyd Kelly still remains the only confirmed signing for Newcastle United this summer and while it is still very early days a quick look online will show where fans' patience is right now.

Newcastle have gone from being linked with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Kylian Mbappe to signing Lloyd Kelly on a free and being rejected by Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo in under three years,

While the links to the likes of Osimhen and Mbappe were never really more than journalists just having fun with the fact that the Magpies have the richest owners in the world, they still set a bar for expectations when it came to incoming transfers, whether believable or not.

Now we're having to sell players we bought just last year to balance the books after the Premier League tightened all the loopholes for FFP/PSR and we're struggling to attract big name players again.

The lack of European football will stifle Newcastle all summer

That second part is also likely down to Newcastle failing to qualify for Europe last year more than anything else, but it's certainly something that Eddie Howe is having to contend with this summer.

The Newcastle boss is keen on England centre-back Fikayo Tomori of AC Milan and is keen to bring the 26-year-old back to the Premier League.

AC Milan have set a price of £42million according to Tuttosport (via The Chronicle) which is positive in the fact that is suggests that the Italian club are open to a deal.

It's the hope that kills you

As much as PSR is being a pain in the derriere, the price would be the least of Newcastle's concerns should they make their move for the former Chelsea man.

Tomori has already made clear that he sees Newcastle as a step down from where he is now and has no intention of moving to Tyneside.

With Newcastle's lack of European football this season it will be hard for Howe's recruitment team to convince Tomori otherwise, even with our clear upward trajectory and exciting project.

It wouldn't be so hard to take, though, were it not for all the fun and games shortly after the takeover when the media made it look like we'd be buying superstars every year, even though, we all knew deep down, that the reality would be different. In fact, it should have been blindingly obvious the minute we signed Dan Burn and Chris Wood. As they say though, it's the hope that kills you.