Newcastle United have been handed the chance to sign one of their transfer targets for next to nothing this summer as his current club look to get rid ahead of the new season, it has been reported.
Newcastle setting up to spend
It has been a tough start to the summer for Eddie Howe's side, with the Premier League's FFP rules forcing them to do more business than they would have liked.
A need to comply with the regulations before the June 30th deadline saw the Magpies sell highly-rated pair Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively.
So far, they have only been able to recruit with limited funds too, despite the wealth of the PIF behind the Magpies. As a result, their only signings to date have been Lloyd Kelly and John Ruddy, who arrived on free transfers, and Odysseas Vlachodimos, who moved to St James' Park as part of the deal that took Anderson to Forest.
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Now though, they could be set to spend. As per The Telegraph, the Magpies have been handed a budget of £100m before further sales, with The Athletic claiming that the club are looking for "a right-winger and a centre-back, while a forward may also be signed" as well as potentially another goalkeeper and a midfielder.
With £100m not likely to stretch across five positions at the level of player the Tyneside outfit are likely to want to target, they are going to have to take some shortcuts if they want to land as many new faces as planned. Now, they may have been offered one.
Juve offer Newcastle chance to pounce
That comes courtesy of Italian giants Juventus, who are keen to trim their own squad down in a bid to rejig their midfield under Thiago Motta. As per Gazzetta dello Sport [Via Sport Witness], one of those players free to leave is Brazilian Arthur Melo, who spent last season on loan with Fiorentina and is not in Motta's plans moving forward.
Arthur Melo's Juventus career
Appearances
63
Starts
35
Goals
1
Assists
1
Yellow Cards
8
Newcastle have previously been credited with an interest in the Brazilian this summer as they look to bolster their midfield, and though the report claims that there is "nothing concrete" with the Magpies at present, they also add that Juve would "be willing to sell Arthur for next to nothing just to get rid".
With the Brazilian still having two years left to run on his £105,000 a week contract in Turin, both Newcastle and Everton may then be "tempted" to scoop up a bargain for a player they've been linked with for some time.
Arthur has been in English football before, but it was an ill-fated loan spell with Liverpool which lasted just 13 minutes due to injury, and he never actually made his Premier League debut or played in England (his cameo was in an away fixture in Naples).
However, with his pedigree including several of Europe's top clubs, he could be worth taking a risk on were he to be available cheaply, and he could provide some much needed cover for compatriot Bruno Guimaraes in Eddie Howe's engine room.