Newcastle have joined Aston Villa in pursuing Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, according to Lalaziosiamonoi.it.
The Italian website reports that the Magpies’ interest in the France international has emerged in “the last few hours”.
Villa are believed to have tabled a €25m (£21m) bid for Guendouzi, with his former manager Unai Emery keen to take him back to the Premier League.
However, Lazio are looking to hold out for a fee in the region of €30m (£25m), with the midfielder currently a key part of their first-team plans.
Guendouzi is a controversial figure
It’s fair to say that not every manager who the 25-year-old has worked with is a fan. Emery signed him for Arsenal and the Spaniard used him regularly until he left the Emirates in late 2019.
However, Guendouzi’s successor in the Gunners’ dugout, Mikel Arteta, did not particularly like his attitude and the Frenchman was shipped out on loan to Hertha Berlin within 10 months.
The trend continued at Lazio. He is well-liked by Maurizio Sarri but his behaviour led to him getting on the wrong side of his successor Igor Tudor. Marco Baroni has, though, recently taken charge at the Stadio Olimpico and the player is believed to be back in favour now.
Newcastle need to strengthen in midfield
The emergence of Lewis Miley has certainly helped matters but there is a lack of options in the middle of the park. Sandro Tonali is still suspended while Sean Longstaff could depart this summer as he has just a year left on his contract.
It does lend some credence to the pursuit of Guendouzi but there are clear downsides to the signing. Manager Eddie Howe will need to be confident that he can handle his personality or he could quickly become a problem in the squad.
