NUFC told to pay £14m to sign midfielder - Reporter confirms Rafa Benitez's interest
According to Italian outlet TuttoMercato, Newcastle have been told to up their alleged £10.5m offer for Juventus midfielder Stefan Sturaro - with the Serie A champions believed to holding out for at least £14m .
In addition, the Chronicle have since confirmed that Sturaro IS a player Rafa Benitez has tracked over the past 12 months, suggesting this one could be a go-er for NUFC this summer - even if there's been no confirmation of any bid at their end.
The box-to-box midfielder looks set to leave Turin this summer and is a player who has been regularly linked with a move to Newcastle over the past 6-9 months - with his agent claiming last year that we were one of several the sides interested in signing him.
As ever with these stories from Italy, it's quite unclear exactly what's going on, so here's what the Chronicle's Chris Waugh has had to say in response to the latest rumours surrounding the Juventus midfielder:
He is a player who Newcastle United have followed for the past 12 months - but there is no word from the club as to whether a bid has been launched, as reports in Italy claim. The 25-year-old is available from Juventus, and his representatives have been very active trying to drum up interest. I wouldn’t rule this one out at this stage, but I’m not sure things are anywhere near as advanced as is being suggested in Italy.
If true, a fee of £14m would seem decent business for a 25-year-old Italian international with decent pedigree, however these alleged asking prices must be taken with a pinch of salt - especially when a rival Italian paper claimed West Ham had bid £17.5m for him just a few days ago!
A potential replacement for Meirno perhaps? We shall see, but there certainly seems to be some level of interest in Sturaro from NUFC - even if talk of us making an offer is not quite as accurate as the Italian media are claiming.
