Juventus have now been told that ‘amazing’ Newcastle target will cost around £34m

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It will be fascinating to see what kind of midfield Newcastle United end up with at the end of the transfer window.

Such has been the need to strengthen elsewhere since PIF’s takeover at Newcastle, only two conventional midfielders have been signed in the Saudi Arabian era.

Clearly, Joelinton’s remarkable adaption to life in the middle of the park has helped bolster ranks but only Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali have actually arrived from other clubs.

Guimaraes, of course, has been a hugely successful signing and a constant in a midfield trio to have chopped and changed all season due to an injury crisis.

The hope is that he will stay this summer but the fact he has a release clause obviously muddies the waters somewhat.

Tonali, meanwhile, has it all to prove after a long time out of action due to a worldwide ban from football following breaches of betting rules.

On paper, Howe has a lot of options. Elliot Anderson and Joe Willock will hope not to have such big injury issues next season, while Sean Longstaff has been a key presence under the Newcastle boss.

Still, despite the bodies available (when all fit), the lack of a traditional defensive midfielder has been noted upon.

Guimaraes has broadly done an excellent job in the deeper role but there was an acceptance last year that it wasn’t his best position.

One man who has been linked with the club for a while now is Atalanta’s Ederson, who can operate there.

The 24-year-old’s performance in their Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen was hailed as “amazing” by pundit Owen Hargreaves.

Indeed, Newcastle are believed to have taken note.

Newcastle took real note of Ederson’s performance in the Europa League final

According to TuttoJuve, Newcastle were among the clubs who watched Ederson strut his stuff in Dublin.

They, along with Tottenham and Juventus were all thought to have been monitoring the Brazilian, with the Old Lady actually told by their Italian rivals that Ederson would cost around £34m.

Newcastle were leading race to sign Ederson at one point

Newcastle’s admiration of the player is actually thought to have far outdated the Europa League final.

Back in March, it was suggested the Magpies were actually winning the race to sign him.

Whether or not that is still the case is unclear but maintaining the interest is something PIF have done over the years.

The likes of Sven Botman and Anthony Gordon were signed the window after they were initially targeted in, so it would be nothing new for Newcastle.