Newcastle United are interested in a double deal with Inter Milan for Joaquin Correa and Stefan de Vrij this summer, joining five players who have previously moved to Tyneside from the Serie A side.
Toon manager Eddie Howe has identified the pair of Nerazzurri stars as options who can improve his ranks at St James’ Park. The Magpies are eager to add options at both ends of the pitch after ending the 2021/22 Premier League campaign with the division’s 12th-best offence and 15th-best defence.
No player also struck double digits for top-flight goals last term, with Callum Wilson leading the way with eight. Allan Saint-Maximin and Bruno Guimaraes, meanwhile, each struck five and Joelinton hit four. Martin Dubravka also kept all eight of Newcastle’s clean sheets to the club’s 62 goals allowed.
Newcastle are interested in double Inter Milan raid for Correa and De Vrij
Now, CalcioMercatoWeb claim Newcastle are interested in a double deal with Inter Milan for Correa and De Vrij. The Serie A side are open to offers for the striker and centre-back as chairman Giuseppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio strive to improve the San Siro natives’ transfer war chest.
Inter Milan hope to acquire Paolo Dybala and re-sign Romelu Lukaku this summer, yet are struggling to finance their moves. Correa is the leading option to help bolster the Nerazzurri’s budget as the 27-year-old has a market in the Premier League. De Vrij is also available as his contract expires in 2023.
Newcastle are interested in both, Correa and De Vrij, and are weighing up a combined €50m (£43m) offer for them. Any deal would represent a swift exit from Inter Milan for Correa, having only joined the club last summer after following his Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi to the San Siro in an initial loan.
Correa struggled to secure a starting presence after moving to Milan, having opened just 12 of his 26 Serie A appearances. The 17-cap Argentina international still offered six goals and one assist as Inter finished second to AC Milan. But he did not add to his goal tally in a cup tie, whilst offering an assist.
Inter Milan are now open to offloading Correa, having made his loan transfer permanent through an obligation in the deal. The Nerazzurri paid Lazio €5m (£4m) for the temporary side of the move, plus €25m (£21.5m) to buy. De Vrij, meanwhile, joined Inter in 2018 after leaving Lazio as a free agent.
Correa and De Vrij can now become the sixth and seventh Inter Milan players to join Newcastle, with Howe interested in a double deal. So, with that in mind, how did the previous five fare on Tyneside?
Lazaro the last Inter Milan player to join Newcastle amid interest in Correa, De Vrij
Valentino Lazaro is the most recent Inter Milan player who joined Newcastle for Correa and De Vrij to potentially now follow amid Howe’s interest. The Magpies signed the Austrian on loan during the January 2020 window under Steve Bruce and held a €25m (£21.5m) option to buy him that summer.
Toon chiefs opted against activating the clause as Lazaro scored just one goal in 13 Premier League appearances. He also only started in four top-flight games and one of his two outings in the FA Cup. The 26-year-old has since left Inter Milan on loan with Borussia Monchengladbach and with Benfica.
Magpies secured San Siro swoop for Santon in 2011 before his Nerazzurri return
Newcastle launched a successful swoop on the San Siro in August 2011 to sign Davide Santon from Inter Milan for £5m. The full-back would go on to make 94 appearances during his spell at St James’ and offered five assists across all competitions. But the Italian only featured once in his final season.
A series of injuries held Santon to an eight month absence from the Toon squad during the 2014/15 campaign before facing Leicester City in the FA Cup. The clash proved to be his last outing, as Santon re-joined Inter Milan on loan later in that January before completing a permanent summer transfer.
Martins made Magpies move in 2006 after Serie A success at the San Siro
Obafemi Martins made a £10m move to the Magpies in 2006 after Serie A success at the San Siro in the previous season. The Nigerian had become unsettled after helping Inter Milan win the Scudetto in 2005/06 following the Nerazzurri’s £17m deal with Juventus for a 24-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Inter Milan had also won the Coppa Italia in 2004/05 and 2005/06 with Martins, who contributed 49 goals in 136 games across all competitions. He would go on to hit the net 35 times in 104 games with Newcastle before joining Wolfsburg for £9m in 2009. Only for the Nerazzurri did he play more often.
Belozoglu had mixed success at Newcastle after Inter Milan exit
Newcastle signed Emre Belozoglu from Inter Milan in 2005, yet his three seasons at St James’ proved to be a story of mixed success. His gifted ability as a deep-lying midfielder thrilled in the North East, after injuries saw his promising Nerazzurri spell fade from ending 2002/03 as their Player of the Year.
The 101-cap Turkey international had some high times across his 80 appearances with the Magpies, before joining Fenerbahce in 2008, like scoring the winner against Sunderland in October 2005. But he could also appear uninterested and struggled to form an on-field relationship with Scott Parker.
Pistone took path out of Inter Correa and De Vrij could follow amid Newcastle interest
Alessandro Pistone took the path out of Inter Milan that Correa and De Vrij could now follow amid Howe’s interest, having joined Newcastle in 1997. Kenny Dalglish convinced the full-back to join for £4.5m, and Pistone would spend three years at St James’ before securing a £3m switch to Everton.
The Milan-born defender also spent time on loan with Venezia in 1999, between making 63 outings in black-and-white. His debut campaign proved to be Pistone’s best at St James’ with 39 games that season, including in the FA Cup final. But Ruud Gullit’s appointment in 1998 left him on the fringes.
“We didn’t like each other, but I never understood why,” Pistone once told Planet Football of Gullit, who made the left-back train away from the first-team. “Generally speaking, I think he was a good coach. But when he arrived, he picked up more than 10 players and cast them aside without a word.
“He left out Shearer. Imagine that. In January I needed to play and there was an opportunity to join Venezia, but in a normal situation I would never have left Newcastle because I was living my dream.”
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