As has been reported a few times this week, Newcastle United are trying to sign Duván Zapata from Atalanta.
There’s still a lot of work to do from the Magpies’ end to achieve this, however, namely in convincing the Serie A side to let their star striker go with a hefty fee.
The player was already said to have pre-agreed to a contract of around €6m/year at St James’ Park, but the obstacle remains with his club.
Calciomercato on Friday talk about it once more, who make it clear that Atalanta ‘don’t intend to sell unless except for an important figure (€40m) and with guarantees of a definitive sale’.
That’s because, as was reported previously, the first offer from Newcastle had included the sale, but only if they remained in the Premier League.
An alternative here given by Calciomercato that could work would be ‘a paid loan with an obligation to buy not only linked to avoiding relegation but also to player performance’.
Meanwhile, Atalanta are covering their backs just in case the Magpies do give them the required money, and have ‘sounded out’ Andrea Belotti once more, knowing full well that his contract with Torino runs out in the summer.
There are doubts about him, but it’s a gamble they might be willing to take at a cheap price, meaning ‘the flirtation between Zapata and Newcastle can open the doors’ to give Luis Muriel a new teammate.
