‘Agreement reached’ for 69-goal long-term Newcastle United target to complete £34m move to Saudi club

Newcastle are understood to have been long-term admirers of the Lazio midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Tyneside over the past couple of seasons.

A transfer has never materialised with Lazio previously reported to be asking for around £87million for the 6ft 4in Serbian international. But with the 28-year-old now into the final year of his contract, Lazio have lowered their valuation considerably and have reportedly reached an agreement with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal worth around £34million.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a verbal agreement has been reached between the two clubs ahead of a formal bid. The final decision will be up to Milinkovic-Savic himself ahead of contract talks.

The midfielder has been linked with a Premier League move for a while having established himself as a prominent player in Serie A. He has scored 69 goals in 341 games for Lazio over eight seasons, including 11 in 47 matches last season

Al Hilal’s approach for the player comes amid a key period for football in Saudi Arabia. Al Hilal are one of the four clubs taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who own an 80% stake in Newcastle.

The other three clubs are Al Ittihad, Al Ahli and Al Nassr. So far this summer, a number of high profile players have followed Cristiano Ronaldo over to the Gulf state, including Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Roberto Firmino.