Newcastle's hopes of signing Marco Palestra take another hit - Report

Newcastle United's hopes of signing Italian full-back Marco Palestra were already pretty slim, but Fabrizio Romano has driven another nail in the coffin for the Magpies.

Inter Milan are reported to be favourites to land the 21-year-old, but despite that, links to Newcastle aren't going away.

The Atalanta star spent last season on loan at Cagliari, where he caught the attention of several big clubs, and it now seems inevitable that he will be on the move over the summer.

A recent report claimed that Palestra was focused on a move to Inter Milan despite the interest from Newcastle, and now Fabrizio Romano has doubled down on those claims.

Fabrizio Romano says it's a no-go for Newcastle

Fabrizio Romano has reported via X and his YouTube channel that Palestra is not currently interested in moving to Newcastle.

He claims that the move is 'no expected to happen', despite our interest and willingness to 'pay what Atalanta requested', as the player isn't sold on a move to St James' Park, holding out a switch to Inter Milan instead.

"Marco Palestra to Newcastle not expected to happen despite interest and availability to pay what Atalanta requested.

"The player has not opened doors to the move while Inter remain in talks for €45m package, still not enough for Atalanta."

One factor to consider here is Romano's reporting. Is he, via an agent, using Newcastle to help push Inter towards meeting Atalanta's demands? It wouldn't be the first time our name has been floated in a misleading way. 

Time to move on

The lack of European football seems to be a big factor for Palestra; also, staying in Italy seems to be a driver too.

Newcastle's chances felt slim from the start, but reports are piling up now suggesting that there's zero interest from the Italian.

Let's hope that Newcastle don't waste their time pursuing someone who seems to have made it pretty clear he's not interested and we can focus on more realistic targets.