Newcastle United can now sign winner of a 2024 Golden Boy award for just £12.5m

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Newcastle United face competition from two Premier League clubs for a promising defender.

Sporting director Paul Mitchell has his transfer strategy in place ahead of the January transfer window. He wants to recruit more youth from abroad.

PSR is still a problem for Newcastle and in the summer the club avoided a points deduction by selling Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively. Something Newcastle boss Eddie Howe didn’t want to do.

Transfer business has already been done, as Newcastle signed Vakhtang Salia from Dinamo Tbilisi in October. He will join in August 2025 when he turns 18.

And with a busy January transfer window ahead, Newcastle have their eyes on another young player – but he’s not short of interest.

Newcastle could sign Michael Kayode in January

Michael Kayode has been a presence in Fiorentina’s first team this season after breaking into the starting XI during the 2023/24 campaign. At 20 years old he has already played in Europe, helping the side reach the Europa Conference League final.

In December, Kayode was named the Best Italian Golden Boy for his performances throughout the year.

According to FirenzeViola, Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa had offers for the Italian rejected in the summer, and Arsenal were also scouting the young right-back last season.

Tottenham bosses are hot on Mitchell’s heels as they also have an interest in Newcastle target James Trafford from Burnley.

Due to a lack of game time this season, Kayode is considering a future away from Fiorentina with the club looking to offload him in January.

The report suggests that a £25million price tag was placed on Kayode but due to unsatisfactory offers, the asking price has now been set to £12.5m.

The thought is that if he was to leave, an offer from the Premier League would be entertained.

There is also interest from the Serie A and Fiorentina could still sell him to a rival if the right offer comes in.

• READ MORE: All of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United signings, ranked

Michael Kayode compared to Tino Livramento

Despite Kayode’s lack of game time, he has still made five appearances in Serie A this season including a full outing in a 2-1 defeat to Udinese but a lack of consistent first-team game time is what has sparked discussion of a move away.

Kieran Trippier’s departure from Newcastle is a possibility, so a position for Kayode to slot into the squad could become available if the 34-year-old leaves in January.

Kayode’s arrival would give Tino Livramento a new challenge for the starting right-back spot as Newcastle look to invest in the future and relieve themselves of some heavy baggage.

Newcastle are also preparing for the exits of Miguel Almiron and Martin Dubravka despite the latter coming into form as of late.