Newcastle United Targeting Davide Frattesi Amid Lazio Interest

Newcastle United are muscling in on Inter Milan midfielder Davide Frattesi, setting up a straight fight with Lazio for his signature, according to Corriere dello Sport.

The Tyneside club are scouring the market for midfield reinforcements as they gear up for the Matthias Jaissle era, and Frattesi has moved rapidly up their list.

Newcastle’s first approach to Inter focused on young prospect Aleksandar Stankovic, but that door shut quickly when the Italian champions made clear he was not for sale. Inter then pointed the Premier League side towards Frattesi as a more realistic target, one they are actually prepared to cash in on.

Inter have set a €25 million price tag on the dynamic box-to-box midfielder as they look to generate immediate funds.

Coach Cristian Chivu is ready to approve a permanent sale, viewing it as a necessary step to trim his squad, cut the wage bill and recycle money into new signings ahead of a title defence next season.

Lazio have been tracking Frattesi as well, seeing him as a key piece to strengthen Gennaro Gattuso’s midfield. But the Roman club are operating from a weaker position at the negotiating table. Financial limits mean they can only put forward an initial loan with a conditional option to buy — a structure that falls well short of Inter’s demands for an outright sale.

That gap hands Newcastle a clear edge. Buoyed by funds from recent high-profile departures, the Magpies are in a position to lodge a permanent offer that hits Inter’s valuation. Their strong working relationship with Frattesi’s agent, Giuseppe Riso, adds another layer of leverage as talks develop.

Frattesi, renowned for his late runs and goalscoring threat from midfield, is understood to be open to a move to the Premier League for the first time, having previously been linked with Nottingham Forest.

With Inter pushing for a clean sale and Newcastle armed with both cash and connections, Frattesi has become a very real, very attainable target for the club’s new project under Jaissle.