Newcastle United will have to pay as much as €30m for Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos if they wish to sign him from Stuttgart.
The Greek defender is currently on loan with the German club, having joined them for a second successive season after a successful spell last season.
They have an option to make the move permanent, something they are likely to take up as he has been ‘seriously convincing’ for them this season.
Indeed, his performances have been earning him plenty of admiring glances, with Newcastle thought to be keen.
They need to improve their defence in January, with a whole new backline thought to be on Eddie Howe’s shopping list as he looks to improve his squad and give them a chance of avoiding relegation.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Magpies are one of several clubs eyeing up Mavropanos, with Stuttgart believed to be looking for €25m.
It seems the price has now gone up, though, with SportBILD reporting that it will take at least €30m for the Bundesliga side to let him go.
The newspaper explains that they can sign Mavropanos from Arsenal for €3m, which would turn out to be a ‘lucrative deal’ as internally there is an agreement that they will not let him leave for anything less than €30m.
That’s a price tag they’ve slapped on him amid interest from Borussia Dortmund, while other ‘top clubs’ are said to be interested too.
Newcastle don’t get a mention, but they’re one of the interested parties, and now it’s clear they’ll have to pay big if they want to get their man. Arsenal, meanwhile, will have to sit and watch as Stuttgart make a big profit on a player they’ll only be getting a pittance for in comparison.
