Newcastle United's transfer window is close to bolting its latch, with manager Eddie Howe and technical director Dan Ashworth plying some impressive work over the past few months.
Playmaker Sandro Tonali has completed a £55m transfer from AC Milan, Leicester City have allowed winger Harvey Barnes to make a £39m move to Tyneside after their Premier League relegation and Southampton (also relegated) have sold Tino Livramento for £40m.
Allan Saint-Maximin has departed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli, and while the Magpies will be ready and raring after qualifying for the Champions League this year, one more offensive signing looks to remain on the cards…
Who are Newcastle going to sign?
According to Turkish-Football, United have been in negotiations with Galatasaray forward Nicolo Zaniolo's agents all summer and are considering meeting the player's £30m release clause.
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However, transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Newcastle's Premier League rivals Aston Villa have registered a concrete interest following a recent ACL injury to Emi Buendia.
How good is Nicolo Zaniolo?
While Zaniolo has not enjoyed the most seamless career to date, it's easy to see why European outfits such as Newcastle and Villa are eager to add him to the ranks, with the Italian's cutting edge and dynamism blending to create a truly deadly attacking outlet.
Zaniolo suffered a nightmare period in 2020 where he endured two ACL injuries himself, but has since rebounded and has caught the eye of many top outfits looking to add an extra dimension to their frontline ahead of the looming campaign.
Described as a "lethal playmaker" by journalist Zach Lowy, the 13-cap Italy international scored five times in the Turkish Super Lig despite only joining from Roma in February and starting two matches.
This follows on from the previous campaign where he scored eight goals and supplied nine assists for Jose Mourinho's Serie A outfit, netting the winning goal in the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord.
Zaniolo also ranks among the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for total shots taken and the top 14% for touches in the attacking box per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his prowess at finding dangerous openings to sink the opposition with regularity.
Barnes is listed as a comparable player to the £76k-per-week gem, and Howe might actually be wise to make a move for a similar profile and provide healthy competition for his thriving squad.
Indeed, Barnes enjoyed an impressive campaign on an individual level despite the Foxes' relegation to the second tier, having scored 13 goals from 34 Premier League matches and earned praise for his presence as a "livewire" by pundit Alan Hutton.
As such, Barnes now ranks among the top 7% of positional peers for goals per 90, and while his clinical ability will bolster Newcastle's attacking impetus, given that the club will be looking to compete across four competitions this year, spreading the workload could be imperative.
Once dubbed a “frightening talent” by journalist Ben Jacobs, Zaniolo could shoulder the burden considerably, offering a different slant but maintaining Barnes' goalscoring knack, and both players could consequently thrive and take the next step in their development.
