Newcastle eye Alessandro Circati after impressive World Cup bow - Report

The World Cup is likely to see Newcastle United being linked with many players by the media all around the world.

Newcastle fans are aware of the reality behind the 'Richest club in the world' tag. Our owners may have deep pockets, but financial restrictions forbid them from throwing money at the club. Not that they would, anyway. The PIF sees Newcastle as a business, and that's how they are operating it.

Outside of Newcastle, though, the moniker still flies, and that's why our club's name is used so often to weed out interest in players. So if someone has a good game at the World Cup, expect Newcastle to be linked with that player immediately.

Italian Australian centre back Alessandro Circati is the latest player to be linked with Newcastle after a solid performance for Australia in their World Cup opener, in which they beat Turkey 2-0.

Newcastle named as one of several clubs interested in Circati

The 22-year-old Parma star was born in Italy and represented them at youth level before opting to play for Australia. Probably a good move in hindsight, given that the Italians aren't at the World Cup.

The story of Newcastle's interest comes from ParmaToday, a publication with close ties to Parma. 

They claim that Newcastle is one of several clubs keen on Circati and that the Magpies' interest is on 'fertile ground' due to a good relationship with Circati's agent.

It makes sense, but we're not convinced

A young, up-and-coming defender does make sense as a target for Newcastle this summer, and he did look good in that game against Turkey at the weekend, but we always take reports from Italy with a pinch of salt, especially when it's a source local to the club in question.

This feels like a case of an outlet using Newcastle's name to draw out genuine interest, but there's enough in it that there could be some truth to it too.

It's the first time we've been linked with Alessandro Circati, so our guard is up for now, but it gives us a reason to keep an eye on Australia at the World Cup, and we'll see how it progresses.

Rumour Rating: 5/10 - Could go either way. He ticks plenty of boxes, but there are also a few red flags.