Manager reveals he told £25m ‘warrior’ to snub Newcastle United and Aston Villa this summer

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Aston Villa and Newcastle United are both on a mission to challenge for Champions League qualification.

The two Premier League clubs will have alarm bells blaring at the ‘Big Six’ clubs after putting themselves firmly in the equation for European qualification.

Both Aston Villa and Newcastle United have continued to show their ambition in the summer transfer window, with Villa in particular stealing the headlines after spending close to £150million on new signings.

As revealed by HITC, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Chelsea all showed an interest in signing Red Bull Salzburg defender Strahinja Pavlovic.

It is understood that Red Bull Salzburg want a fee of around £25million for the 23-year-old centre-back, who starred for Serbia at Euro 2024 this summer.

Coach reveals Strahinja Pavlovic transfer talk

Strahinja Pavlovic played every minute of Serbia’s Euro 2024 campaign which included the 1-0 group stage loss against England.

The Serbian national coach, Dragan Stojkovic, has revealed that Pavlovic asked him for advice on his future.

As quoted by SempreMilan, Stojkovic said “Pavlovic is not just a defender, he is a warrior. I will tell you an anecdote from this summer so you can understand why. In Germany, during the European Championship, Pavlovic asked me for advice for his future.

“Strahinja told me that he could choose between several Premier League clubs and Milan in case of leaving Salzburg. I told him -If you can choose, go to Milan. It is a top club and Serie A is the university for a defender.

“He thought exactly like me, he had an experience in Italy in mind. I am always happy when a player from my national team lands in a big club, but in Strahinja’s case I would be even happier.”

Strahinja Pavlovic could accelerate £35m Newcastle deal

Ironically, Pavlovic snubbing a move to Newcastle could help the Tyneside club land another £35million target.

HITC revealed on Monday that Newcastle are close to finalising a deal for AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw.

READ MORE: Newcastle United and Tottenham target set for crunch talks with head coach, £30m deal is on the cards

AC Milan are now set to seal the signature of Pavlovic – as per Stojkovic’s advice – which has freed up the Serie A giants to part ways with Thiaw.

A deal for Thiaw could accelerate once Milan announce their signing of Pavlovic.