Though they’ve yet to win anything under Eddie Howe’s guidance, it’s clear that Newcastle are a team that’s going places, and to that end, it isn’t a surprise that players want to be associated with the club.
Given the strength of the financial backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, it would appear to be only a matter of time before the Magpies get over the line in one of the competitions in which they enter, making them an even more attractive proposition than they are currently.
One player that might well be joining them at the end of the current campaign is Genoa’s defensive powerhouse, Radu Dragusin.
The player’s agent, Florin Manea, has admitted to talks with the Magpies amongst others.
“Genoa don’t want to give him now, but in the summer yes. If they get the price they want, you realise it’s a lot of money. Genoa want €30m, they said directly,” he said to Fanatik.
“I don’t think there is anyone in Italy who would give this amount of €30m. I talked about the Premier League area, I talked about Newcastle, but they are not the only ones, there are several teams I am talking to.”
At a cost of €30m, that’s clearly well within Newcastle’s budget, and at 21 years of age, Dragusin fits into the young, but experienced, player bracket that Howe evidently enjoys working with.
As Manea notes, it will be the summer at the earliest before the Serie A outfit will even consider putting their player up for sale, and a lot can change in eight months.
At least the Magpies are remaining pro-active in their search for new talent, and that bodes well for the future.