Newcastle fear they’re being used in Marco Palestra saga - Luke Edwards

Newcastle United were recently heavily linked with an interest in Italian defender Marco Palestra.

Ross Wilson needs to find a replacement for Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth to support Tino Livramento in the right-back position, if not replace him should Tino himself push for a move. 

After the veteran duo left the club, there's now a severe lack of options at full-back, and it was recently reported that Newcastle had identified Atalanta's Marco Palestra as a top target for the right-back position.

The 21-year-old impressed on loan at Serie A rivals Cagliari last season and has garnered a lot of interest from elsewhere as well as the Magpies.

Newcastle have not made a move for Marco Palestra

However, The Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards has delivered an update via X this morning (Wednesday) urging fans to temper their expectations.

Edwards believes that Newcastle's name is merely being used to flush out genuine offers, even if the club do ‘like’ the player. 

"Newcastle like Marco Palestra but they have not made any attempt to sign him at this stage and believe he is heading elsewhere anyway. Suspicion their name has been used to flush out others. Welcome to another summer transfer window #nufc"

Newcastle's name is being used again

This happens a lot on the continent, as people still buy into the idea that, because of our owners, we're a mega-rich club with money to burn, so it's easy to link us to players around Europe in a bid to draw out genuine bids.

Newcastle are in the hunt for a right-back, and Palestra certainly fits the bill, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that there's truth to the rumours.

Edwards doesn't deny the interest, however, so we'll see how this one progresses over the summer.

Rumour Rating: 5/10 - We've knocked it down a few points since Monday's story. Inter Milan’s growing interest and Edwards' post has made our confidence drop slightly.