Newcastle United mulling over surprise Serie A transfer interest in defender
JUVENTUS have made a surprise move for Newcastle United defender Lloyd Kelly after failing to prise Fikayo Tomori from AC Milan.
The Serie A side have made contact with Newcastle officials to confirm their interest in Kelly and are preparing a €13m offer for the defender, who can play at centre-half or left-back.
Newcastle rejected a similar offer for Kelly from Fenerbahce last week, although that bid is understood to have involved a lower initial payment than the deal being proposed by Juventus.
Magpies head coach Eddie Howe will be reluctant to lose Kelly this month, even though the summer signing from Bournemouth is his fourth-choice centre-half behind Sven Botman, Fabian Schar and Dan Burn.
However, with Kelly having arrived in the summer as a free agent, his sale would be a major boost to Newcastle’s PSR position, which remains extremely tight ahead of the June accountancy deadline.
There has been talk of a possible loan deal for Kelly, but Newcastle will only consider a permanent departure this month.
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Kelly has made just four Premier League starts this season, and was an unused substitute on Saturday as Newcastle suffered a 4-1 home defeat to Bournemouth.
Juventus were initially interested in Kelly in the summer, and have opted to move for the 26-year-old after refusing to meet AC Milan’s asking price for Tomori.
Meanwhile, Miguel Almiron’s time at Newcastle is set to come to an end this week, with the Paraguayan poised to return to Atlanta United.
The Newcastle hierarchy are set to agree a deal worth around £10m for Almiron, who has been a peripheral performer this season, making just one league start. Like Kelly, Almiron was an unused substitute as the Magpies lost at the weekend.
Atlanta are hoping to sign both Almiron and Middlesbrough centre-forward Emmanuel Latte Lath. If Almiron’s departure is completed, it is unlikely that he will be directly replaced this month, with Newcastle’s recruitment team instead preferring to maximise the club’s spending capability in the summer transfer window.
