Newcastle United are in the hunt for a £13m Serbian wonderkid, according to reports.
Newcastle United are eyeing up an elite Serbian talent in the form of Ognjen Ugresic, according to reports.
The Partizan midfielder has already clocked up 48 senior games at club level, despite being just 19 years old, registering nine goals and three assists during that time - including strikes in Europa League and Conference League qualifiers.
Ugresic made his senior debut for the Serbian national team in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Andorra in October, coming off the bench for the final few minutes of a 3-1 win. That follows a youth national team career that has spanned five different age groups and 17 combined caps.
Newcastle in the race for Serbian wonderkid Ugresic
It’s been something of a breakthrough year at club level for Ugresic, who has six goals and three assists to his name in 36 appearances across all competitions, helping 27-time Serbian champions Partizan sit third in the Super Liga table and almost certain to qualify for Europe again.
That seems to have attracted serious attention from around Europe, with German outlet Fussball Europa reporting that Newcastle United and Marseille are among the ‘top clubs’ interested in signing the teenager.
The report states that the likes of PSV Eindhoven, KRC Genk and Bologna were closely following Ugresic two years ago, and that he would have cost just €500,000 (£435,675) at the time. Now, however, Partizan are understood to be demanding a fee in the region of €15million (£13m) for a player whose career trajectory only appears to be trending upward.
But that doesn’t seem to have deterred Newcastle or Marseille, who are thought to already be in direct contact with the player’s representatives as they seek to get ahead in what could be a crowded summer market.
Goals and assists aside, Ugresic has averaged 22.5 successful passes and 3.0 defensive contributions per 90 minutes in league play this season (FotMob), showing he has high potential as an all-round midfielder.
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