A general view of Newcastle United supporters waiting outside the stadium for news of the latest developments in the sale of the club to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund for 300 million-pound ($408 million) takeover in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Thursday Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
According to Corriere di Bologna, relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb, Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Italy star Riccardo Calafiori.
Newcastle United will be looking to invest again in their squad this summer after a disappointing campaign in the Premier League where they finished seventh, missing out on European football due to a technicality.
Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Manchester City meant that despite finishing behind the Magpies last season, they have earned the Conference League spot instead.
Eddie Howe will surely be disappointed with the fall from their previous top-four finish and Champions League qualification, however, the lack of European football does present an opportunity to reset and focus on developing a strong starting eleven that can not only compete again for a spot in Europe, but potentially a domestic trophy too.
The injury issues that have plagued the club over the last 12 months has played a huge part in the failure to maintain the high expectations set in Howe’s first full season at St James’ Park, with his star players absent for months on end.
Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles are perhaps have fallen victim to the most serious of injuries with both needing to undergo ACL surgery in the latter stages of last season, leaving Howe with little depth in his defensive line.
As a result, it will come as no surprise to Newcastle fans that a centre-back signing has become a priority for the club and now an exciting young prospect at Euro 2024 has become a potential target.
Reports from Italy have revealed that Newcastle are the latest club to register their interest and join the race in signing Italy and Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori.
However, they are not the only Premier League club vying for the young star’s signature, as Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are both keen on snapping up one of the stand-out performers at the European Championships in Germany this summer.
Will Newcastle sign Riccardo Calafiori?
There is no doubt that a centre-back signing this summer would be ideal for Newcastle as they head into the season without Botman to accompany Fabian Schar in the defensive partnership for the first few months of the season.
But not only that, Schar will turn 33 in December so investing in the future of the centre-back partnership will be crucial to ensure quality can be retained when the Switzerland international does eventually hang up his boots.
For that reason, putting forward a competitive for Calafiori this summer would be an outstanding move and great piece of business for the Magpies both to resolve a short term issue with Botman and to bring in a worthy successor for Schar.
Calafiori has been representing the Azzurri at the Euros over the last week and has been one of the most impressive performers in the competition so far, despite their loss against Spain last night.
Over two Euro appearances so far, the £38m ace has successfully completed 100% of his dribbles, tallied up a 92% pass completion rate and won 55% of his total duels, as well as averaging 5.5 ball recoveries, 2.5 interceptions and a whopping 96.5 touches per game, demonstrating his dominant presence on the pitch, as per SofaScore.
With that being said, Calafiori will be one to watch for Newcastle fans on the international stage this summer and would be a fantastic prospect for the club to add even more youthful talent to the squad ahead of next season.
