Newcastle United are on the brink of signing Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, and now the Magpies are looking to sign another player from the Serie A giants.
Tonali is set to complete a move to the North East on Friday, with Eddie Howe getting the marquee midfielder he has been craving. Newcastle will then be able to turn their attentions elsewhere, as they look to majorly enhance their squad ahead of next season.
Left-back is one position that the club would like to improve, and a new target has emerged in the shape of Theo Hernandez.
It was reported on Thursday night that Newcastle are interested in the World Cup runner-up, who has been Tonali’s teammate at AC Milan for the past three years.
He would be another incredible addition to Howe’s squad, but the report from Gianluca Di Marzio expresses that Newcastle know a deal for the 25-year-old will be difficult due to interest from Atletico Madrid. Hernandez has been an Atleti player before, and spent 10 years living in the Spanish capital earlier in his career, having also represented Real Madrid.
That familiarity could give Atletico the edge over Newcastle, while finances could also be an issue for the Magpies.
Theo Hernandez would cost Newcastle a club record fee
Shortly before Italian journalist Di Marzio stated that Newcastle were keen on Hernandez, he provided some information on how much the Frenchman will cost this summer.
He stated that AC Milan want as much as £68million for Hernandez, which would make him Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever.
For that kind of money, it is difficult to envision Hernandez heading to Tyneside. While Newcastle have very wealthy owners, the club still need to be mindful of FFP, and have plenty of other positions they want to improve in this summer.
Spending that kind of sum on Hernandez would mean that the Magpies have forked out nearly £130million on just two players – with both coming from AC Milan.
Of course, it could be argued that Hernandez is worth pushing the boat out for. He is an elite footballer, who Stefano Piolo said is on course to become ‘the strongest left-back in the world‘. In that respect, why wouldn’t Newcastle go all out for him?
But if £30million was deemed too much for Kieran Tierney, it is hard to see Newcastle spending more than double on Hernandez.
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