Having accepted defeat in their long-running pursuit of Marc Guehi, Newcastle’s recruitment team have turned to Scalvini as they look to bolster their central-defensive ranks ahead of the new Premier League season.
With deals for James Trafford and Anthony Elanga on the brink of being concluded, talks over Scalvini have been Newcastle’s main weekend focus, but their interest has not generated a positive response from the Atalanta hierarchy.
Instead, Atalanta officials are understood to have spelled out their determination to keep Scalvini and were unwilling to entertain any discussions over a possible price for the 21-year-old, who was restricted to just eight senior appearances last season because of long-term shoulder injury.
Prior to damaging his shoulder, Scalvini had also missed the best part of a year after undergoing ACL surgery, and Atalanta do not want to lose him before he has realised his potential at the Gewiss Stadium.
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A product of Atalanta’s youth system, Scalvini was regarded as one of the most exciting defensive talents in Europe when he broke into the senior ranks in 2021. He has played for every Italian representative side from the Under-15s through to the senior national team, but has only made 89 Serie A appearances for Atalanta because of his injury issues.
Atalanta boss Ivan Juric wants to build his defence around Scalvini next season, and has urged the club’s president, Antonio Percassi, not to cash in on the centre-half. As things stand, it looks as though he will get his way, with Atalanta’s third-place finish in Serie A last season, and consequent qualification for the Champions League, meaning the Italian club do not have a financial need to sell any of their major assets this summer.
Newcastle’s recruitment team, which is being led by Eddie Howe, his nephew Andy, and Steve Nickson following the departure of sporting director Paul Mitchell, must now decide whether to enter into a new round of discussions and attempt to force through a deal which is likely to prove both difficult to engineer and extremely expensive, or move on to an alternative defensive target. The French media have claimed that Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi has been the subject of interest from the Magpies.
Newcastle will hope to formally complete deals for both Trafford and Elanga this week, and are understood to be unconcerned at weekend reports linking Aston Villa will a possible late swoop for the latter.
