Report: Fulham and Newcastle want £23m star but £60k-a-week wages a problem

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Fulham and Newcastle United are only willing to meet Arkadiusz Milik’s £60,000-a-week wage demands if Napoli reduce his £23 million price tag, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Just days ago it seemed a matter of time before the Poland international swapped his baby blue shirt for the yellow and red of Roma.

The Gialorossi were all set to wrap up a deal that would see Milik leave one Serie A giant for another.

But Alvaro Morata’s sudden and unexpected return to Juventus has broken the chain. As a result, Edin Dzeko won’t be heading to Turin after all and, in turn, the door to Rome has slammed in Milik’s face.

That doesn’t mean the former Ajax youngster will be forced to stay in limbo in Naples.

Gazzetta reports Milik has a number of offers on the table from England, although only one of those, Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, are willing to pay the £23 million Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis wants for his Coppa Italia-winning striker.

Fulham and Newcastle are keen too.

But the Cottagers and Magpies can only afford to meet the 26-year-old’s £60,000-a-week wage demands if Napoli are willing to accept a lower fee for a man who would blow a sizeable hole in the budget of two underperforming Premier League clubs.

Milik has refused to extend a contract that expires in 2021 and Napoli have made it clear he will be sold sooner rather than later as they look to avoid losing a star player for free.

“If he doesn’t want to remain, he will go on to the transfer market,” sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli told Sky Italia in June.