Newcastle United have been told they must offer Sevilla around £50m to sign defender Diego Carlos.
That’s according to a recent report from The Express, who claims the Magpies have already made two attempts to sign the highly-rated centre-back.
After making an opening offer of £25m and then increasing the fee to £30m, Newcastle United have been rejected twice by Sevilla, who remains adamant that due to his £68m release clause, Carlos, 28, is worth closer to £50m.
The 28-year-old has a deal that runs until 2024 and has played an important role in his side’s recent fortunes, including winning the Europa League in 2020.
However, despite enjoying two-and-a-half successful years in Spain with Newcastle United looking to add some much-needed quality to their ranks ahead of what is going to be a pivotal second half of the season, Carlos is believed to be keen to ply his trade in England’s top-flight.
We exclusively reported last year, the Magpies’ priority has been to sign a new centre-back this January.
Speaking recently about the Geordies bringing in new January signings, manager Eddie Howe, as quoted by the Daily Mail, said: “When the takeover happened there was a lot of excitement at what lay ahead.
“But the immediate needs of team are very different to that initial expectation.
“It was my job to cut out a lot of the noise and just see what the team needed. That is what I’ve tried to do in our current situation – recruit the right players.”