We find ourselves reaching for the sodium chloride again as another Newcastle United transfer story has emerged from Italy.
When a transfer story originates from Italy regarding Newcastle making a move for a player, we always take it with a pinch of salt, but a broken clock is right twice a day, so sometimes they may be worth mentioning.
The rumours around Newcastle’s interest in Inter Milan midfielder Davide Frattesi haven’t disappeared, but Tuttomercatoweb have switched lanes and thrown another name in the mix.
Now the Italian outlet is reporting that Newcastle are chasing French midfielder Manu Kone from AS Roma, who was the subject of interest from Inter Milan in the summer.
Newcastle have already had advances for Manu Kone rebuffed, according to the report
The 24-year-old midfielder is a big part of Roma’s season as they sit at the top of Serie A, and as such, they are thought to be keen to keep their squad together.
Tuttomercatoweb’s report claims that Newcastle have already made contact over Kone but have been rebuffed by Roma.
They also claim that Kone is among the ‘first names’ on Newcastle’s midfielder shortlist.
This one feels like a non-starter
The 12-times capped France international looks like he’d be a good fit for Newcastle, who certainly do need to add some quality to their midfield.
Kees Smit still seems like our priority, or at least we hope that’s the case.
We don’t see a move for Kone coming off. Firstly, we’re never fully convinced by transfer stories originating in Italian media, but even that report doesn’t sound very convinced that a move is possible.