After Newcastle’s pursuit of Diego Carlos hit a brick wall, the Magpies have been offered the chance to sign another centre-back.
For those not aware, Diego Carlos has been linked with Newcastle for much of the January window, with it reported recently that Newcastle had seen €25m and €35m bids for Carlos rejected.
However, on Tuesday, Fabrizio Romano reported that the Sevilla board had decided to keep Diego Carlos and have no intentions of selling the defender in the final days of the window.
Romano reaffirmed this stance on Wednesday by quote-tweeting his original update on the situation to add that Newcastle are now exploring other options:
Sources close to Sevilla assure that position won’t change: Diego Carlos is not for sale and will stay, the decision was made yesterday and communicated to Newcastle. ??? #Sevilla
Newcastle now exploring other options – same for Jesse Lingard deal.https://t.co/D9YY8HhhSy
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 26, 2022
One of these options could be Hungary centre-back Attila Szalai, with the Newcastle Chronicle reporting on Wednesday that the North East outfit have been offered the chance to sign Szalai after Sevilla continue to play hard ball over Carlos.
Who is Attila Szalai?
Szalai, 24, is currently on the books of Turkish outfit, Fenerbahce.
Szalai would sign for Fenerbahçe in January of 2021 from Apol. Limassol. The defender has since featured on 51 occasions for the Turkish side, scoring three and assisting two along the way.
The Hungary international is a dominant central defender who would add some quality and experience to this Newcastle side, having played in the Europa League already this term with Fenerbahce.
No potential fee for Szalai, who is under contract until 2025, has been mentioned.
