Newcastle United are looking to beat AC Milan to Atletico Madrid midfielder Rodrigo De Paul in the summer transfer market, according to reports.
The Geordies became one of the richest clubs in world football but their spending hasn’t been over the top so far.
Financial Fair Play regulations have restricted their spending with the €42m purchase of Bruno Guimares from Lyon the biggest signing last season, .
They are set to spend again in the summer transfer window with Eddie Howe on the verge of leading them to Champions League qualification.
Newcastle need two wins from their final three matches to guarantee a top-four finish and the added revenue of being involved in the Champions League next term.
Howe’s summer budget could be as much as £200m if they secure a top-four spot and a seemingly bitter report from MilanLive claims that Newcastle have ‘entered the negotiation with arrogance’ for one of Paolo Maldini’s ‘market objectives’.
The Milan technical director has his eye on Atletico Madrid midfielder De Paul but the Serie A giants could now have to pursue a ‘change of course’ with Newcastle wanting the Argentina international.
Milan ‘will have to be convincing’ if they are to sign De Paul over the Premier League club with the report adding that ‘the inclusion of Newcastle could ruin everything’.
It is understood that the World Cup winner ‘could seriously leave’ Atletico in the summer transfer market with the midfielder available for around €40m.
The report describe the potential hijacking of the deal to sign De Paul as ‘another robbery’ by Newcastle after they beat the Italians to Sven Botman over the summer.
Newcastle boss Howe even recently had to dampen expectations of signing world superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Howe told reporters: “That kind of speculation has been there from day one since the takeover, really. Naturally everyone has then assumed the biggest names in world football will be going to Newcastle.
“Now we’ve not recruited that way. I think financially, we can’t recruit that way at the moment, but also we have to bring the right people and the right players into the group. It is best to discover them before they explode onto the world scene.
“I will say the transfer market is such a complex decision, you can’t just pick a name and bring them in. There’s got to be a lot of thought going into what we’re doing both financially and looking at the players.
“It doesn’t frustrate me. Those two players are unbelievable players. We are linked with different names. I know what direction I want to take the team in and what we can and can’t do in the transfer market. A lot of the names will not be accurate.”
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