All summer, Newcastle United fans were clamouring for the club to shop the European transfer market for bargain buys and hidden gems, rather than pay Premier League premium prices.
It’s not hard to see why our fans wanted to shop in Italy in particular: Sandro Tonali has become arguably the most important player at Eddie Howe’s disposal, and the signing of Malick Thiaw this past window was one of the best bits of business any English club conducted.
The young German has slotted in perfectly into our defence, displacing Fabian Schar and winning major plaudits for his passing and defensive capabilities.
And could a reunion be on the cards for Tonali, Thiaw and a former AC Milan teammate of theirs? We may face some stiff competition to sign him, but he could be an essential purchase to replace some of our ageing stars in the near future…
Versatile Serie A defender linked with Newcastle move
Newcastle United have been linked with a potential move for Juventus’ Pierre Kalulu.
This comes from Italian outlet Tutto Juve, Newcastle, Spurs and Aston Villa are all showing interest in the versatile defender, who can play at full-back or centre-back.
Kalulu, previously of AC Milan where he played alongside the aforementioned Tonali and Thiaw, has played every minute so far in both the Serie A and Champions League for the Old Lady.
But Tutto Juve claims that Juventus could sell the 25-year-old in order to facilitate future transfer activity, with Igor Tudor’s team being tempted to sell if a bid worth over €30m comes in.
Despite being contracted to the Turin giants until 2029, and having only transferred permanently earlier in 2025, it’s claimed that Juventus aren’t ruling out selling Kalulu in January
How would signing Kalulu help Newcastle?
Similar to former teammate Thiaw, Kalulu is well-regarded for his versatility and dependability to play across the defence. Though he’s played primarily as a right wing-back under Tudor this campaign, he’s adept as a centre-back too.
With our injury woes so far this season in defence, where each of Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Fabian Schar have been ruled out on separate occasions, defensive depth will be no doubt be considered by our recruitment team in the coming windows.
Kalulu being only 25-years-old could be a welcome addition to our more youthful defence. In the next couple of seasons we will no doubt be phasing out the old guard of Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, Dan Burn and Schar, and experienced options will be needed to replace them.
If €30m is the price for a starting, Champions League level defender from a league where we boast a strong recent record for successful signings, then Kalulu could make sense.
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