AC Milan have waited three years for Hakan Calhanoglu to finally perform like the elite-level attacking midfielder he has always threatened to become.
But just as the former Bayer Leverkusen star is starting to establish himself as one of the most influential play-makers in European football, his future at the San Siro has been cast into serious doubt.
Calhanoglu, according to Gazzetta dello Sport will become a free agent in July.
And it almost goes without saying that Milan, Serie A leaders at present and a team on the up after almost a decade of disappointment, are desperate to stop one of their star performers leaving for nothing.
The Rossoneri have offered Calhanoglu a new four-year deal complete with a pay rise that would see him earn £60,000 a week. The Turkey international, however, has yet to accept those terms.
If it seems unlikely to some that Calhanoglu would swap Milan for Newcastle, the Magpies will know they will never have a better chance of signing such a genuinely top-level midfield creator.
The Chronicle claimed earlier this year Newcastle had been scouting Calhanoglu extensively and this feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
A set-piece specialist who shot to fame with a 50-yard screamer against Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund in his Hamburg days, Calhanoglu contributed 11 goals and nine assists in 2019/20.
It has been far too long since Newcastle boasted a midfielder capable of producing those numbers in the middle of the park.
“He’s a generous player with high quality. He works for the team,” Milan boss Stefano Pioli told Sky.
“He’s an exceptional guy. He has the qualities to become the protagonist (at Milan).”
Unless they can tie him down to a new deal, however, Milan face losing one of the first names on Pioli’s team sheet for a fraction of the £23 million they paid for him in 2017.
And while Mike Ashley isn’t renowned for flashing the cash at St James’ Park, he is a shrewd businessman. The chance to sign a top-class performer at the peak of his powers for a cut-price fee will surely get the Newcastle owner’s blood flowing.
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