Newcastle ready to bid to sign ‘extraordinary’ midfielder who Mourinho said has huge potential

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Newcastle United are ready to make a bid for Galatasaray’s 24-year-old Italian midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo.

That’s according to Turkish source Sabah who claim that Newcastle are ready to meet Zaniolo’s release clause.

That release clause reportedly sits at around £30m.

Newcastle have long been linked with attacking midfielders during Eddie Howe’s tenure and it will be interesting to see if Zaniolo is indeed a target.

The club have previously been linked with Zaniolo whilst at AS Roma and the stories are now resurfacing.

Zaniolo, who has done incredibly well to return from two serious knee injuries, was given a lot of praise by his previous manager Jose Mourinho.

Speaking to SportMob in 2021 Mourinho said: “He seems super-professional and I had heard about him as quite an immature lad, but that’s not what I have found working with him.

“I don’t like comparing Zaniolo to players of the past, but I can say there are few out there with this amount of potential.”

High praise indeed from a man who has managed some of the best players in the world.

If there’s substance to these links then Newcastle fans could allow themselves to be a little bit excited.

Newcastle ready to bid for Galatasaray’s Zaniolo

Galatasaray’s ‘extraordinary’ Zaniolo does present a profile that doesn’t really exist in Newcastle’s developing squad.

And whilst Newcastle tend to play quite a flat midfield three you would expect they will need added creativity in the future.

Newcastle’s project only seems to be heading in one direction and given they will hope to dominate games more regularly they may require the finesse of a Zaniolo to get the job done.

It does seem that any interest is still pretty early at this stage, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Howe’s side move again in the window.

On paper, a bid for Galatasaray’s Zaniolo looks very sensible for Newcastle, especially at the price reported.

However, fans may be wary of the injuries the player has suffered in the past, the two serious knee issues mentioned.

Zanioio has missed a lot of games previously and Newcastle would of course want their man available should they make a move.