Newcastle are in talks with Portuguese champions Benfica over a move for Greek midfielder Andreas Samaris, according to O Jogo.
The Portuguese sports newspaper report on their website that the Magpies are currently in negotiations over a transfer fee for the 28-year-old defensive midfielder, who has a reported £40million (€45million) release clause in his contract.
The news comes less than a week after the Mirror claimed that Rafael Benitez’s side were ready to break their transfer record for the 28-time-capped Greek international.
However, O Jogo claim that while Benfica are looking for a fee of around £17.6million (€20million), the Tyneside club are said to only be willing to pay £13.2million (€15million) to secure his signature.
In his three seasons at the Portuguese giants, Samaris has made 110 appearances, scoring twice and grabbing five assists across all competitions, which helped his side secure three successive Primeira Liga titles.
His international debut came in a 2-0 home win over Lichtenstein back in 2013, while his sole goal for his country came as the opener in a 2-1 win over the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Newcastle currently have Isaac Hayden and Jack Colback as their first choice defensive midfielders, while Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame will also be fighting for a central role.
However, it appears that boss Benitez is keen to introduce some international experience to his midfield, with Shelvey picking his last England cap up in November 2015, while Senegal international Mohamed Diame retired from international duty in March of this year.