It has been a very slow start for Newcastle United this summer in terms of bringing in first-team-ready players.
After signing Lloyd Kelly at the start of the window and adding a couple of goalkeepers, things have been almost silent on the transfer front as backroom politics has grabbed the headlines over player arrivals and departures.
Now that the boardroom-level issues appear to have been ironed out, the club can now focus on transfer business, and if Sky Sports Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio is to be believed, that's exactly what they're doing.
It seems that the new sporting director Paul Mitchell is a big fan of a player Newcastle have been linked with for a few weeks and now they are ready to make their move.
We'd been led to believe that a deal was already being worked on for AC Milan's German centre-back Malick Thiaw , however, Di Marzio claims that Milan have yet to receive a bid.
All that is about to change, however, as Newcastle are preparing a bid for the -year-old.
Milan are currently in the throes of trying to bring in Youssouf Fofana and Niclas Fullkrug and it's believed that selling Thiaw would accelerate that business.
Thiaw has been our top pick for that centre-back spot since the Magpies were linked as he ticks so many boxes that fits the Newcastle model, and seeing him alongside a fully fit Sven Botman for years to come would be immense.
It has been reported that £25million should be enough to seal the deal for Thiaw, and there have been suggestions that the player is keen on the move, so things could and should move quickly, especially given Milan's current pursuits.
A new signing is just what we need right now, to distract us from everything else that's going on. It could also be the move that opens the floodgates for more transfers.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
7 | 11 | 18 |
2 |
Manchester City
|
7 | 9 | 17 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
7 | 9 | 17 |
4 |
Chelsea
|
7 | 8 | 14 |
5 |
Aston Villa
|
7 | 3 | 14 |
6 |
Brighton
|
7 | 3 | 12 |
7 |
Newcastle United
|
7 | 1 | 12 |
8 |
Fulham
|
7 | 2 | 11 |
9 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
7 | 6 | 10 |
10 |
Nottingham Forest
|
7 | 1 | 10 |
11 |
Brentford
|
7 | 0 | 10 |
12 |
West Ham United
|
7 | -1 | 8 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
7 | -2 | 8 |
14 |
Manchester United
|
7 | -3 | 8 |
15 |
Leicester
|
7 | -3 | 6 |
16 |
Everton
|
7 | -8 | 5 |
17 |
Ipswich
|
7 | -8 | 4 |
18 |
Crystal Palace
|
7 | -5 | 3 |
19 |
Southampton
|
7 | -11 | 1 |
20 |
Wolves
|
7 | -12 | 1 |