Newcastle United 'bid £42m' for extraordinary midfielder

Newcastle United have tabled a bid of around £42million for AC Milan's Sandro Tonali, according to reports.

Head coach Eddie Howe is looking to sign two midfielders in this summer's transfer window ahead of the club's return to the Champions League next season.

And United, according to The Athletic, have made their move for the highly-rated defensive midfielder.

Tonali will captain Italy's Under-21s in this summer's European Championship in Romania and Georgia. Tonali has also won 14 senior international caps.

The 23-year-old, also linked with Chelsea, made 48 appearances for the Champions League semi-finalists last season.

Tonali – who started his career at Brescia before joining Milan, initially on loan, in 2020 – won Serie A the season before last with his club.

Leicester City and England midfielder James Maddison, 26, is also a target for the club, which is also interested in Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella.

'Depth' needed

Howe admitted that the club, which sold midfielder Jonjo Shelvey to Nottingham Forest in January for an undisclosed fee, was "light" in midfield late last month amid speculation over another move for Maddison, who had been a target last summer.

 "It's a difficult one, because we go into a lot of competitions next year, so we need the depth," said United's head coach.

"This year, we've been light in certain areas of the pitch.

"We've carried on in the second half of the season with four midfielders. so you're one injury away from a very difficult situation, so we need a little bit more depth, certainly with three games in a week next year."