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At 20 years of age and impressing during his first full season in Serie A, Kristjan Asllani has become a target for a number of clubs.

It was already reported in Italy that Newcastle United had taken a shine to the player, with a meeting being requested by the Magpies regarding transfer talks.

This has since been backed up by Corriere dello Sport, who have similar information in their Monday print edition.

The newspaper state Newcastle have ‘swooped in’ for the Empoli regista, who has also been a target for the likes of Piero Ausilio at Inter.

The Premier League club have ‘asked for a meeting’ with their president, Fabrizio Corsi, which is seen as something of a ‘counterattack’, because neither the also interested Milan or their city rivals have made a move as of yet.

What isn’t great news for Newcastle in all this is that Inter are ‘convinced of having a preferential path’ following the good relationship created between the two clubs due to the successful loan of Andrea Pinamonti (13 goals in 36 appearances) last season.

That’s something for Eddie Howe and co. to overcome if they want to ensure they secure a promising young defensive midfielder to help add strength in depth to the squad at St James’ Park.