Late opportunity for Newcastle United to raid AC Milan due to interesting twist

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Newcastle United missed out on a highly thought-of defender in the January transfer window.

It has been a regular story on Tyneside, players have been offered to the club but the Magpies have not had the fees to get the deal done.

Newcastle wanted Abdukodir Khusanov from RC Lens. The Uzbek defender had impressed under manager Will Still but had caught the eye of many clubs across Europe.

At one point, Newcastle led the race for Khusanov. The Magpies have been in the market for a defender with Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles‘ contracts expiring. In the end, Khusanov signed for Manchester City for £33.8m.

It was a blow for Eddie Howe and sporting director Paul Mitchell – Khusanov’s agent admitted that Newcastle’s FFP problems meant they were unable to sign him.

It is believed that Newcastle executives were ‘miffed’ at losing out on Khusanov to Man City.

While Newcastle are still in the market for a new centre-back, they have just been informed of a new opportunity to sign a Serie A star who they have been linked with in January.

Newcastle target Fikayo Tomori could still leave AC Milan in January

Fikayo Tomori was finding game time hard to come by under AC Milan’s previous head coach and former Newcastle target Paulo Fonseca. However, Fonseca has since left the Serie A side and was replaced by Sergio Conceicao where he has enjoyed more minutes in Milan’s starting XI.

Newcastle were linked with Tomori who was expected to cost around £31.5m for any interested party. According to ESPN, Tomori’s future at AC Milan is in doubt.

The former Chelsea man rejected a move to Juventus in the January transfer window despite a loan deal with the obligation to buy in the summer being agreed in the summer.

Tomori would prefer to stay at Milan after returning to the first-team picture under Conceicao. The report states that Milan are eyeing a striker in January and needs to raise funds for a deal. Tomori could still make a move elsewhere to make that happen.

If he is to leave Milan, Tomori would prefer to return to England. He left Chelsea for Milan in 2021 when he joined Milan on an initial loan spell. He won the Serie A title in his first season.

Newcastle have previously done business with Milan which could give Howe’s side the advantage in the race for Tomori – Sandro Tonali joined the Magpies in the 2023 summer transfer window from the Italian giants.

Newcastle are not desperate for a centre-back

Newcastle’s defence is not in desperate need of reinforcements. That is even after Alex Murphy joined Bolton on loan until the end of the season.

As it stands, Newcastle have six players who could play at centre-back for the rest of the season if need be.

It looks like Lloyd Kelly will stay at Newcastle unless a substantial offer is made for the 26-year-old. Newcastle also have Emil Krafth who is due back in the coming weeks. Lascelles will be available in March.

The Magpies may need to dip into the transfer market in the summer as the likes of Burn, Lascelles and Schar go deeper into their 30s.