Aston Villa and Newcastle United have joined the list of clubs interested in a move for Galatasaray defender Attila Szalai this summer.
That’s according to Blikk, who say the two clubs have joined Leicester City in tracking the 23-year-old after his impressive displays this year.
They explain that Szalai has enjoyed something of a Hollywood story this season, having moved to Turkey as an unknown last summer.
He’s quickly established himself as one of the stars at Galatasaray, though, and that has ‘attracted the interest’ of top European clubs.
Galatasaray know what they have, and the Turkish side are asking for €25m to sanction a deal, a figure that would make Szalai the most expensive Hungarian player in their history.
Whether any of the interested parties are willing to pay that isn’t mentioned, but the newspaper do describe the price as ‘brutal’.
Indeed, none of the clubs appear to have made their move as yet for the centre back, who is now being tipped for a ‘serious career in international football’.
On the face of it, it seems unlikely Newcastle would pay such a fee given Mike Ashley is usually quite careful with his funds, but Aston Villa have certainly shown a willingness to pay if they think a player is good enough.
Whether they think so here remains to be seen, although their interest is certainly there, and Szalai is a name to keep an eye on as a result.
