Newcastle United will reportedly table a deal worth £121 million to bring Lazio striker Ciro Immobile to St. James’ Park, if the Saudi takeover bid goes ahead.
The Italy international has been in sensational form this season, scoring 27 goals to fire the Roman club to within a point of the league summit.
Immobile is second only to Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski in the European Golden Boot standings, and Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that the Magpies hope to make him a statement signing under new ownership.
According to the Italian outlet, Lazio have received a €55m (£49m) bid for the 30-year-old, while Immobile will receive a five-year deal worth €8m (£7.1m) net per season.
Considering the gross payment of the salary, the total deal will come to around £121m.
Immobile will not be easily moved, having become a club icon while scoring 116 goals in 167 games for Lazio since arriving in 2016.
The club turned down a £54m offer from Chinese side Dalian Yifang in January, which would’ve seen Immobile earn £9m yet per year, and talks are ongoing over a new contract that would keep him in Rome until 2025.
But Newcastle hope to tempt him with the chance of spearheading their attack and getting his first taste of Premier League football, after previous spells abroad at Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is financing a £300m takeover of Newcastle, but the deal is yet to be completed and there have been calls for it to be blocked from the likes of Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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