Newcastle United want 'elite' signings this summer. Well, they do not come much bigger than Nicolo Barella.
Barella not only has vast experience in the Champions League, playing a crucial role in Inter Milan reaching last season's showpiece, but, also, at international level, where the talismanic midfielder started the Euro 2020 final win against England. It says it all that this is a player who has only got better since earning a Ballon d'Or nomination in 2021.
In fact, Barella scored more goals (nine) across all competitions for Inter last season than in his previous two campaigns combined. The Italian also registered a dozen assists, the most for any Inter player since Opta first started recording such data. It goes without saying that few players in Barella's position can rival these numbers.
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This is an all-rounder any side in Europe would welcome, a man once dubbed the 'Sardinian Steven Gerrard', who has become a star in his own right. The fact Newcastle are even exploring the possibility of bringing Barella to St James' Park feels like a statement in itself. It may well be one of Newcastle's boldest moves since a club delegation travelled to Turin, unannounced, back in the mid-'90s in the hope of returning home with one Roberto Baggio.
It also underlines how Newcastle have had to be adaptable this summer given the small pool of players who can actually improve the starting line-up. As much as Newcastle have planned for this window for a while now, the Magpies also need to be opportunistic, whether it is targeting quality individuals who have been relegated, like James Maddison, or testing the nerve of a club like Inter at a potentially uncertain time for the Serie A giants. Inter, after all, are the most indebted club in Italy, who were without a front of shirt sponsor for several months after cryptocurrency firm DigitalBits failed to make scheduled payments, and the Nerazzurri are due to pay back a loan worth around £296m, including interest, to American asset management firm Oaktree in less than a year.
Inter also posted losses of more than £119m last season and the club were fined by UEFA and handed stricter Financial Fair Play targets as a result. Inter's recent run to the Champions League final has provided a financial boost, but Newcastle have, tellingly, tested the water.
Just as Inter are having to navigate the FFP minefield, Newcastle are having to be creative in a different way. If there is even a slim and unexpected chance of landing a player like Barella, when homegrown talents like Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham have been out of reach, why not at least try? However difficult it seems.
Although Newcastle did manage to strike deals for Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier when the club did not have the allure of Champions League football, this would be the toughest deal of all. Barella still has three years left on his contract and Inter are not going to cave at £50m for such a key player having broken their one-time transfer record to sign the midfielder for a similar fee from Cagliari in the first place. Indeed, it is hardly a surprise that the word 'intoccabile' (untouchable) was splashed on the front of La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday morning alongside a photograph of Barella in Inter colours.
Yet Newcastle have sensed an opportunity and, given how savvy the club's recruitment has been in the last 18 months, the Magpies have clearly had some form of encouragement or else they would not waste their time. It is easy to see why Newcastle are pushing. Barella is a leader, one of the most vocal figures in an experienced dressing room at Inter, and brings that intensity to the field.
This is a tenacious figure who is constantly in officials' ear, and the father-of-three even earned the nickname 'radiolina' (pocket radio) from former team-mates because he never stops barking. It came as no surprise to those who worked with him that Barella was Cagliari's youngest ever captain at just 20.
Yet, as serious as Barella is on the field, the Sardinian has a wicked sense of humour off it. Barella, for instance, was the star of the show at a Nike event last summer to showcase Inter's new home kit. At one moment, fellow team-mate Lautaro Martinez was asked by the compère what his message was to those who dream of following in his footsteps. Before Martinez had even raised the microphone, Barella told the young hopefuls: "Don't do it!
Newcastle will be hoping for an altogether different response when Barella eventually sits down with his agent. Whatever happens, the club are at least showing some ambition.
