Newcastle United are interested in a summer swoop for Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic, according to reports.
What’s the latest on Newcastle’s interest in Brozovic?
As per Milan Web, Newcastle are very keen on signing the midfielder and are prepared to submit a bid of around €30 million (£26m) to the Italian giants.
The report suggests that the Nerazzurri could look to cash in on a player, who is contracted until 2026, in order to fund a squad revamp in the summer.
With Champions League qualification on the horizon, Magpies boss Eddie Howe and sporting director Dan Ashworth will be looking to strengthen his squad to compete with European football’s elite next season.
Financially, the transfer fee would be no issue for the riches of majority shareholders PIF, so a deal will hinge on whether sporting director Dan Ashworth can tempt Inter to sell, and tempt Brozovic to make the move to the northeast of England.
Why are Newcastle interested in Brozovic?
In the past, Jose Mourinho has shown himself to be a huge fan of Brozovic – dubbing him “the top of the top” and a “fantastic player” to talkSPORT.
The 30-year-old has not averaged a WhoScored rating of less than 7.0 for a Serie A season since his first campaign at Inter Milan in 2014/15, showcasing his consistency of impressive performances at the highest level.
One of Brozovic’s biggest assets is his passing range with his ex-manager Luciano Spalletti once claiming he had a “compass in the foot.” (via Calciomercato)
To illustrate this, even in an Inter team that has been inconsistent in Serie A this season, he ranks in the top 3% for passes attempted and top 6% for pass completion per 90 compared to other midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year.
His success in Italy was crowned by winning the Serie A title under Antonio Conte in the 2020/21 season, ending the campaign as their fourth highest-rated player on WhoScored.
The £184k-per week man was also an integral member of the Croatia teams that reached the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 World Cup semi-final.
This ability to perform under pressure has also clearly not waned, as Brozovic bossed the show and recorded an impressive 7.5 WhoScored rating in a 2-0 away win against Benfica in the first leg of Inter’s Champions League quarter-final last night.
This experience and success would be vital for Howe as Newcastle look to enter the Champions League and become Premier League title contenders with a squad that is largely inexperienced in winning trophies and playing in the biggest of games.
If Ashworth and co can secure this deal, they would have a man who has been there and done it and would have a positive impact on the club as a whole along with the players around him.