Report: Newcastle in the running for 28-year-old Spanish international centre-back

With Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles unlikely to play for Newcastle United again this year Eddie Howe must look for top-class defenders as cheap as possible.

With so many players needed to flesh out the squad this summer, Newcastle must look for bargains when and where possible, and HITC believes that they may have found one in the form of Mario Hermoso who currently plays for Atletico Madrid.

The five-times capped Spain international is soon to be a free agent and Premier League clubs are queueing up to offer him his next move.

Aston Villa, West Ham and Newcastle are all said to be keen on the 28-year-old.

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Three big Serie A clubs are also interested in Hermoso

There's also strong interest from Italy with a trio of big hitters from Serie A interested in Hermoso as well, but HITC claims that the Premier League trio have made contact with Hermoso's people and are now aware of his demands.

The centre-back has played 28 times for Atletico Madrid this season including eight times in the Champions League, he's also chipped in with two goals and an assist.

As a free agent, he's likely to be demanding some tasty wages in lieu of a transfer fee which could make things interesting as his agent plays six clubs off one another.

Newcastle are looking to box-clever in the transfer market

The more Newcastle look to the free agent market for backup players, the more Eddie Howe will have to spend on first-choice stars to bolster certain positions that have been lacking this season.

Namely, the strikers. Alexander Isak is world-class, but the players around him are not and at times, he struggles. Plus his injury record since coming to Newcastle has been less than stellar. Meanwhile, Callum Wilson is likely to be sold this summer while he still has some worth, which means we need to bring in two strikers and they don't come cheap.

Defence is a glaring issue, particularly left-back which has been a problem all season. There's much to be done this summer, so being linked with free agents is all good by us.