Newcastle United are considering making a move for AC Milan’s French winger M’Baye Niang this summer, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Magpies have signalled their interest in the player after Watford had a £5million bid turned down by the Italian giants.
They report that AC Milan are looking for a fee in the area of £18million, a fee which would see Newcastle break their current transfer record if they did pay up.
The Magpies’ current record transfer is the £16million spent on former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen in the summer of 2005.
Niang, who can operate as a winger on either flank or an out-and-out forward, actually spent the latter half of last season on loan at Watford but appeared to flop when it came to the demanding nature of the Premier League
He managed to notch up just two goals and two assists in his 16 appearances, with Watford finishing just one place and six points above the relegation zone last season.
However, it appears that he did enough during his time at Vicarage Road to convince the Hornets to make a permanent move for him, while Newcastle seem happy enough to wait in the wings and monitor the situation.
The Evening Standard report that Niang has little interest in making his temporary spell at Watford a permanent one, and that the club would have to provide a significant monetary incentive to convince him otherwise.