Newcastle United are hoping to beat AC Milan to Soualiho Meite after the Serie A leaders opened talks with the Torino midfielder, as reported by MilanNews24.
While the towering, 39-year-old figure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has emerged as the peacocking posterboy of an unexpected title charge, Milan’s sudden transformation from also-rans into league leaders owes much to some superb work behind the scenes.
The Rossoneri have made a rather useful habit of signing players who have fallen out of favour elsewhere, before reigniting their somewhat stalling careers at the San Siro.
A la Quentin Tarantino with Robert Foster and Michael Madsen, Stefano Pioli has brilliantly re-launched Brahim Diaz, Diogo Dalot and Simon Kjaer in that iconic red and black shirt.
While 26-year-old Meite has struggled to live up to lofty expectations at Torino, that has not put off a Milan side ready to take on another new project.
MilanNews24 reports that the seven-time European champions are keen to sign Meite on loan with an option to buy; a package that would set them back around £7 million.
Newcastle are hovering in the background but, if Milan are racing towards the finish line in the race for Meite’s signature, the relegation-threatened Magpies have barely got out of the starting blocks.
“There are several clubs who are interested in Meite and Milan are one of them,” Torino’s sporting director Daniele Vagnati told DAZN, via Football Italia, this week.
Newcastle are desperate to bring in a solid, box-to-box enforcer this month and the technically gifted, powerful Meite would tick a lot of boxes for Steve Bruce, who tried to sign a similar player in the shape of Lille’s Boubakary Soumare 12 months ago.
Meite would provide some much needed energy at the heart of a wafer-thin midfield.
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