Shopping in the Serie A, much like the rest of Europe’s top five leagues, has been a happy hunting ground for us in recent times.
Sandro Tonali and Malick Thiaw, both signed from AC Milan in 2023 and 2025 respectively, are two of the standout players in our current team. And the fact we got them both for a combined fee of under £100m would you have questioning why any club even considers paying Premier League premium prices nowadays.
Coupled with signing Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes from France, and Joelinton and Nick Woltemade from Germany, and you have to imagine that scouting the European market should be the move forward for the bulk of our transfers moving forward under Ross Wilson and co.
And, according to a new report, a fresh opportunity to sign one of the Serie A’s top stars could be on the horizon, and he’s long been admired by Eddie Howe for a number of years now, but does it goes against what the PIF wants to see in future transfers?
Old target open to Toon move?
The Chronicle have revealed that Newcastle are monitoring the situation of Scotland and Napoli hero Scott McTominay, as rumours continue to swirl surrounding his future in Naples.
Lee Ryder reports that McTominay would be interested in working under Eddie Howe and ‘open’ to the prospect of playing at St James’ Park.
The 28-year-old, who was the Serie A ‘MVP’ last season as Napoli won the Scudetto for the fourth time in their history, is thought to be unsettled in Italy and eyeing a return to the Premier League.
The former Manchester United midfielder is contracted until 2028, and Napoli expect to receive more than the £25m they paid for his services.
Howe targeted the goalscoring midfielder during his time at Old Trafford, with that link heavily criticised at the time before he went on to reinvent himself in Italy.
Right now, we can afford to go without bringing in another no.8 into our current midfield setup, as competition for places remains fierce. But with Joelinton pushing 30-years-old and facing increased fitness issues, it may not be the worst idea.
Where does McTominay signing align with ‘new’ transfer policy?
The Chronicle also reports that the PIF have encouraged a new transfer strategy over the summer, one that would directly contradict signing a player like McTominay.
The preference from the club’s higher-ups is that we opt for younger players with immense potential rather than already-developed, proven stars who could be considerably more expensive.
That isn’t to say that those kind of players won’t be bought however. We were backed into a corner and practically needed to sign Yoane Wissa or be left without sufficient striker depth for the first few months of the campaign. Though it seems that moving forward, more Nick Woltemade-esque signings will be the mission for Howe and the recruitment team.
McTominay turns 29-years-old in just a couple of weeks time. So even though the Scot has Howe’s prior approval from when he was a rumoured target during his Manchester United days, you have to wonder if we do follow through with any attempt to sign the midfielder knowing there are younger, cheaper albeit less proven options out there on the continent.