Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United were reportedly offered the chance to bring Roma’s Serie A benchwarmer Nikola Kalinic back to the Premier League.
Nikola Kalinic has no interest in joining Newcastle United this month despite his lack of game time at Roma, according to Il Sussidario.
If The Magpies were hoping to sign a new striker during the January transfer window, their 1-1 FA Cup draw with League One strugglers Rochdale on Saturday will have done little to change their minds.
£40 million flop Joelinton looked out of his depth against a third-tier opponent, missing two glorious first-half chances as Steve Bruce’s side just about avoided another Round Three exit, while Andy Carroll, Yoshinori Muto and Dwight Gayle do not have a league goal between them this season.
The chance to sign a Croatian international with AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina on his CV might have carried some appeal, then, with Corriere dello Sport reporting that Kalinic’s agents had approached Newcastle about a potential move to St James’ Park.
The £13 million man, however, has little intention of pulling on the famous black and white stripes and dragging Newcastle to safety.
According to reports in Italy, a striker who has started just one Serie A game all season wants to stay at Roma and has let The Magpies know of his intentions.
And the one-time Blackburn Rovers youngster appears to have a fan in the shape of Giallorossi coach Paulo Fonseca – even if the Portuguese tactician has preferred other options in attack.
“Kalinic is working well, in the second part of the season he will be able to play more,” the former Shakhtar coach said. “It is not easy to change players in January. It is important for us that Kalinic stays.”
Fortunately for Newcastle, there is still plenty of time to find an alternative before the window slams shut.
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