Fabrizio Romano says Newcastle scouts recently watched £35m-rated Serie A defender

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Newcastle United are looking to bolster their defence after sending scouts to watch over Genoa’s Radu Dragusin.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move elsewhere for a while with Newcastle now showing serious interest in the defender.

Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Newcastle had recently sent scouts to watch Dragusin play for Genoa as they hope to add a new centre-back to their ranks either in January or the summer.

Genoa, however, do not want to lose one of their key players in the middle of a season.

Newcastle look to add Dragusin to their ranks

With an injury to Sven Botman exposing the lack of depth at Newcastle, Eddie Howe will want to bolster his side in the upcoming windows to cope with the demands of playing in four competitions.

Jamaal Lascelles has been filling in for the injured Dutchman, but Howe wants to add more quality to his team and find a long-term successor to 31-year-old Fabian Schar.

Dragusin could certainly be the answer to Newcastle’s problems, but Romano reports that Genoa are looking to extend the Romanian’s contract as they hope to hold onto him until at least the summer.

The centre-back spent last season on loan at Genoa from Juventus and helped them gain promotion from Serie B after making 34 league appearances and scouring four times.

Dragusin was then snapped up permanently in the summer and is one of the first names on the team sheet as the tall and physical defender hopes to keep his good form up to help Genoa stay in the division.

Newcastle are not alone in their interest

Newcastle will hope they can present an attractive offer to Dragusin, but they are not alone in their admiration of the Genoa defender. Journalist Mirko Di Natale recently revealed that Arsenal, Tottenham and AC Milan are also keen on a move.

It’s understood that Genoa would require a fee somewhere in the region of £35m to pry one of their star players away.

The Italian club paid just a fraction of that price when they signed the young talent permanently in the summer, but now want to maximise their profits.

It’s not a fee that it is out of the realm of possibility for Newcastle, though it would take up a huge chunk of the budget. For a young, talented defender, however, there’s little chance of finding a cheaper alternative.