European football will demand two things of Newcastle United this summer: quality players and squad depth.
The latter was a glaring issue the last time we played in the Champions League, and it won’t be lost on Eddie Howe that if we want to compete next season, a serious recruitment drive is needed.
And according to a fresh report from Europe, we’ve certainly got the right calibre of player in mind, potentially at a cut-price deal too.
According to reports in Italy, Newcastle are considering an ambitious summer move for one of Serie A’s top strikers.
Italian outlet [Gazzetta dello Sport](http://gazzetta.it/) claim that Dusan Vlahovic is expected to leave Juventus this summer and has attracted interest from Newcastle as he approaches the final 12 months of his contract in Turin.
The Serbian is set to play his final match for the Old Lady this weekend against Udinese, in what’s a must-win game for Igor Tudor’s side in the race for Champions League qualification.
And out of all Vlahovic’s potential options, a move to Newcastle United is touted as his ‘most likely’ destination in the report, with a cut-price deal potentially on offer in Juventus’ last summer window to secure a fee.
Vlahovic has also been tenuously linked with a move to Manchester United, but once again the allure of European football could play its part in any negotiations.
After setting Serie A alight at Fiorentina, Vlahovic has enjoyed a steady if not underwhelming time at Juventus, with 14 goals to his name this season.
But with only 12 months left on his contract, and no clear sign of renewal at this moment in time, we may be able to strike a reasonable deal for the striker’s services.
Juventus need to desperately raise funds to fuel their own ambitious summer, with Douglas Luiz also linked with a move away after just one season, and you’d like to think we have developed a positive relationship with the Italian giants following on from Lloyd Kelly’s loan move.
The move from the Serie A to the Premier League is a tough one to adapt to for some strikers, with the likes of Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Gianluca Scamacca failing to find their scoring boots in England compared to Italy.
It’s ambitious to suggest a big-name Serie A star would arrive to compete with Alexander Isak for one starting spot in Howe’s 4-3-3 formation, but his career has stalled slightly at Juve and he may just fancy a crack at Premier League football on Tyneside, especially if we can offer Champions League football.
A no-brainer on paper who’d give us something very different to Isak, but it would be a welcome surprise if the Serbian did join as competition for our current star man!