Newcastle step up transfer activity with Dušan Vlahović discussed - Report

French stopper Ewen Jaouen is finally a Newcastle United player, with his £18m move announced earlier today.

The 20-year-old has become the Magpies' first incoming transfer of the summer after already seeing Anthony Gordon move to Barcelona in a deal worth £70m.

His arrival should herald the start of a very busy summer for Ross Wilson, who is looking to overhaul the squad following a disappointing season.

And, if reports are to be believed, it sounds like Toon chiefs could have more in the pipeline as Newcastle look to strike early this summer.

Newcastle have held high-level talks this week

According to The Chronicle, high-level meetings were held over the last 24 hours as Newcastle United looks to bolster their squad even further following Ewen Jaouen's arrival.

Lee Ryder even states that, as of Tuesday night, more deals were being worked on by Newcastle chiefs, suggesting we may see more activity very soon.

Eddie Howe has constantly asked for early signings, but the club has never really delivered that for him, and that proved very costly last season as £124 million-worth of talent in Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade struggled to acclimatise after Alexander Isak's deadline day sale. Obviously, Wissa had the addition of a bad injury that kept him out of action for four months too.

The only player mentioned by name was 26-year-old striker Dušan Vlahović, who keeps being linked with the Magpies. He's expected to leave Juventus this month and become a free agent, while Newcastle have long held an interest in the Serbian.

Dusan Vlahovic - The Never-ending Story

We're still not convinced by Dušan Vlahović, both in terms of him being a good fit, but more specifically, in terms of Newcastle being genuinely interested.

Even as a free transfer, he'll still be an expensive signing due to his huge wage demands, which are likely to be well beyond what we're prepared to offer.

With 50 goals in 123 Serie A appearances for Juve, his record is far from terrible, but it just doesn't feel likely, even on a 'free'. 

As always, though, I'm more than happy to be proved wrong. Based on Newcastle's reported interest during his Fiorentina days, maybe, just maybe, this is a market opportunity we're exploring?