NEWCASTLE UNITED will spend the weekend in discussions with Atalanta as they look to engineer a deal for centre-half Giorgio Scalvini.
As well as attempting to wrap up the purchase of Anthony Elanga, with talks with Nottingham Forest having progressed to an advanced stage after a £55m bid was tabled yesterday, Newcastle’s recruitment will also be hoping to make headway with their pursuit of Scalvini.
Having admitted defeat in their long-term pursuit of Marc Guehi, Newcastle have now made Scalvini their number one central-defensive target.
The 21-year-old is a product of Atalanta’s youth system, and made his senior debut for the Serie A side in October 2021.
A towering centre-half, who stands six foot four inches tall and tends to play on the right of a central-defensive pairing, Scalvini has made 107 senior appearances for Atalanta and was part of the side that won the Europa League in 2024.
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He has played in every Italian representative side from Under-15s onwards and boasts eight senior international caps, having made his debut in the summer of 2022.
He is valued at around £40m by Atalanta, who appear to have accepted that they will be unable to hold on to him this summer.
Newcastle officials are hoping to be able to push through a deal relatively quickly as they are aware of mounting competition from other clubs.
Scalvini recently returned from a long-term shoulder injury that restricted him to just eight senior appearances last season, and has previously suffered from a knee-ligament injury that ruled him out of last summer’s European Championships.
Newcastle will subject him to some stringent medical tests before confirming his signature, but are confident his injury issues are behind him and he can make a major contribution on Tyneside.