Moretto: Newcastle still want Milan defender – €30m+ needed as Allegri outlines wishes

Malick Thiaw remains a transfer target for Newcastle United but Massimiliano Allegri has told AC Milan he wants to keep him.

Thiaw’s future has been the subject of constant speculation. After finding himself out of the team towards the end of last season despite Sergio Conceicao using three centre-backs, talk of a potential exit was rife.

It is believed that Milan even agreed to sell him to Como. The club from the lake offered €25m which was deemed to be enough, yet the German defender eventually rejected the idea of moving there, despite the fact he would have got a big pay rise.

Newcastle still in for Thiaw

Matteo Moretto has given an update on various different negotiations during a video on YouTube published this afternoon, and he spoke a bit about Thiaw’s situation.

“Malick Thiaw continues to be a target for Newcastle. Milan and Como had reached an agreement for 25 million euros in recent weeks, but the German did not accept the transfer because his priority was and is to stay at Milan,” he said (via MilanNews).

Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images

“If he really has to leave, the player has always said he wants to go to a club that plays in the Champions League. Newcastle are looking for a central defender: the first objective was Scalvini, but the block of Atalanta has led the English to put the deal on hold.

“Newcastle are looking around and an old favourite already discussed in the past is Thiaw. The English club has returned to inquire about the German. To date there is still no offer, but Newcastle are trying to understand the conditions of the German’s exit.

“They tell me two things today: the first is that Allegri would like to keep him. Then the market is the market and Milan would be ready to listen to offers, but this time Milan is asking for more than the 25 million that Como was ready to pay. We are talking about a figure higher than 30 million.

“We ‘ll see what happens, but the news so far is that Newcastle have put Thiaw back in their sights. The player is important to Allegri and he wouldn’t want to part with him, barring offers that aren’t refutable.”