Newcastle United are thought to be closely monitoring Nottingham Forest man Nikola Milenkovic as they bid to strengthen their defensive unit ahead of their rebuild – with reports suggesting that some of their older centre-back stars could be moved on at the end of the year once their contracts expire.
Fees of over £40million have been touted for the star, and it remains to be seen if Newcastle would be able to drive that price tag down. But having bid close to £70million for Marc Guehi over the summer, there is evidently cash available at St. James’ Park for a new defender – and the duo could be looked at as potential incomings if Eddie Howe sees fit to splash the cash.
The report from CaughtOffside states that Newcastle are ‘closely monitoring’ Leicester City’s Wout Faes and Forest’s Milenkovic ahead of potential moves to St. James’ Park.
Both Fabian Schar and Dan Burn are out of contract at the end of the season and with the pair both in their thirties, Newcastle are unsure about either offering them new deals to stay on Tyneside or seeking moves for new defenders – which has led them to search elsewhere for defensive solutions in at the heart of their defence.
CaughtOffside sources have named Faes and Milenkovic as two players that the Magpies would be interested in after monitoring them closely in recent weeks, but neither star would come on the cheap. Leicester would reportedly ask for a fee of around £34million for Faes, but Forest would require an increased fee of £42million for Milenkovic, according to the report – with the Serbian being in superb form after his summer move from Fiorentina.
Faes was thought to be considering his future in the East Midlands, but he stayed at Leicester in the summer, which could make it easier to complete a deal for Howe’s men – as Milenkovic would be a tough task to complete, having only moved to Forest in the summer.
Faes struggled in his first season in the Premier League, suffering relegation with the Foxes as their fairytale run that saw them become champions of England and FA Cup winners came to a dramatic end after a nine-year spell in the top-flight. Impressing last season in the Championship, the Belgian seemingly got back to his best with some cultured displays, but he may well need to show that he can hack the Premier League over the course of a season if Newcastle are willing to splash the cash on his services, despite his 22 Belgium caps.
Milenkovic is on a different career trajectory. Only 27, he already has 59 caps for Serbia, and he made 264 appearances for Fiorentina before departing for the City Ground. He comes with plenty of experience and had rarely missed a game for La Viola, so his availability and the frequency in which Newcastle’s defenders appear to be injured shows a vast chasm.
At just £12million, he represented a massive coup for Nuno Espirito Santo and that has shown already with Forest having only conceded six goals – the joint-second lowest in the entire division – but they could shower their books with praise and turn over a £30million profit in just six months if Newcastle meet their asking price.
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