Newcastle United have reportedly launched an approach for AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Despite having secured a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, Eddie Howe is under no illusions that he must strengthen his squad for their upcoming participation in the Champions League.
Since the end of the season, a versatile playmaker has been viewed as a priority, with Leicester City's James Maddison and RB Leipzig's Dominik Szoboszlai both being linked with a switch to St James' Park.
However, Newcastle are lacking strength-in-depth in the centre of the pitch and acquiring another world-class talent to work alongside Bruno Guimaraes is deemed to be imperative.
Last week, it was claimed that Newcastle were prepared to pay £50m in order to sign Nicolo Barella, speculation that was quickly played down given the player's status at Inter Milan.
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Nevertheless, according to The Athletic, the North East outfit have quickly turned their attention to another player who plies his trade at San Siro.
Newcastle are allegedly prepared to pay in the region of €50m (£43m) in order to sign Barella's Italian compatriot Tonali instead.
The 23-year-old has established himself as a key man at AC Milan, contributing seven goals and 13 assists from his 130 appearances in all competitions.
Across the last two seasons, where AC Milan have won a Serie A title and reached the Champions League semi-finals, Tonali has made 88 outings in those respective tournaments.
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Milan do not necessarily have to be in any rush to sell Tonali, who is only one year into a five-year contract with I Rossoneri.
That said, a further report in Sport Italia says that Tonali's representatives have already travelled to London in order to hold discussions regarding a possible transfer to the Premier League.
Such a development seemingly indicates an openness to depart Milan, although Stefano Pioli is already facing somewhat of a rebuilding job ahead of 2023-24.
The likes of Sergino Dest, Aster Vranckx and Brahim Diaz have all returned to their parent clubs, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement.
Darren Plant
