Newcastle make contact over £35m ace likened to Kevin De Bruyne

Newcastle United have made an approach for Croatia international Lovro Majer, according to Foot Mercato.

The Magpies have enjoyed an outstanding season that could culminate in a Premier League top-four finish.

With that in mind, Newcastle will be looking to strengthen their ranks for a huge season next term.

Midfield is an area the Magpies could do with bolstering, having sold Jonjo Shelvey in January without replacing him.

Foot Mercato, via Sport Witness, has now claimed that Newcastle are looking at Majer, who plays for Rennes.

The Magpies are reportedly one of ‘several clubs interested in his profile’.

Eddie Howe’s side have apparently ‘come for information not too long ago’.

Rennes told Newcastle their midfielder has ‘an exit pass’ this summer, and would cost a fee of ‘around €40m’ (£35m).

The reason for that amount is because a chunk of the fee made from sale would go to previous club Dinamo Zagreb.

Therefore, Rennes would want to maximise their own income in the process.

Our view

Majer is a great player who looks set for a step up in his career and, at 25, he is heading into his peak years.

As a Croatian playmaker, comparisons with the great Luka Modric have unsurprisingly been doing the rounds.

Majer is no stranger to this, though. The ‘elegant’ midfielder has admitted it’s ‘nice’ to hear such things.

He has also comparisons with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Houssem Aouar, as per the Ligue 1 website.

On Twitter, fans have also likened Majer to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen and Dimitar Berbatov.

At £35million, he wouldn’t break the bank for a Premier League club.

And as per Salarysport, Majer’s current salary is £26,000-a-week.

Newcastle could easily quadruple it and still be well within their salary structure.

All in all, Majer looks like a good fit for the Magpies.

Let’s see whether more concrete reports or news emerge in the coming months.