Serie A star ‘on radar’ of Newcastle United as major injury worry sparks transfer action
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Newcastle United transfer news: Giorgio Scalvini has once again been linked with a move to Newcastle United.
Newcastle United have once again been linked with a move for Atalanta defender Giorgio Scalvini.
Scalvini was heavily-linked with a move to St James’ Park during the summer transfer window before they instead opted to sign his division rival Malick Thiaw from AC Milan. Thiaw had been scouted and tracked by the Magpies for over a year before eventually making the switch to St James’ Park in August.
Thiaw has impressed during his first campaign in the Premier League and now has a crucial role to play in the first-team as Eddie Howe deals with yet another defensive injury crisis. It had appeared that Newcastle had come through the worst of their defensive issues when Sven Botman returned to the matchday squad last week.
However, when Fabian Schar suffered a serious ankle injury during their win over Leeds United in midweek, Howe was once again reduced to having just two senior centre backs available to pick from. Tino Livramento was then forced off the pitch on Saturday during their win over Bournemouth, adding yet more unwanted strain onto Howe’s defensive options.
Speaking after that win over Bournemouth, Howe confirmed that the club needed more bodies to deal with the games they have coming up: “We need enough players to play the games,” United’s head coach said.
“So, we need enough cover. [Against Bournemouth], unfortunately, we put a couple of the players at risk just with extra time. And that's every player on the pitch.
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“Then the injury risk goes higher the more you're playing. So, we'd love to have enough bodies to lessen that risk.
“But at the moment, we don't have the options. So, yeah, I think we've got to make the right decision. We'll have intense and detailed discussions to try and make sure we come to the right conclusions.”
Giorgio Scalvini transfer links
One option for the Magpies this month could be Scalvini. He is highly-rated by the club and someone they believe could have a very long and successful career in the game.
Team Talk report that the 22-year-old is one again on Newcastle United’s radar following their recent injury troubles. Scalvini has been capped eight times by Italy and has already racked up over 100 appearances for his club with 96 of those coming in Serie A.
However, Scalvini himself has recently had to deal with major injury issues and managed just seven appearances in the league for his club so far this campaign - with just six in total in Serie A throughout the whole of last season.
A cruciate ligament injury ruled Scalvini out of the beginning of last season, before a shoulder injury prematurely curtailed his campaign in January. This year, a couple of muscle injuries have prevented him from being a regular starter at the Bergamo based club - although he has started their last three matches, all of which Atalanta have won to nil.
Newcastle United are expected to meet stiff resistance from Atalanta if they firm up their reported interest in the defender into a concrete bid, however, with the Italian club very reluctant to lose him midway through the season.