Newcastle need £26m after holding meetings for defender who’s more likely to join them than two other suitors

Newcastle United have been asking about the signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa, according to the former Juventus defender’s agent.

After relying on Sven Botman and Fabian Schar as their main defensive partnership last season, Newcastle thought about bringing in a long-term successor to the latter during the summer transfer window.

However, the only centre-back they signed was the 18-year-old Cathal Heffernan from AC Milan, who is not ready to compete for first-team minutes just yet.

Therefore, they might be weighing up their options in defence before the new year. One target confirmed as being on their radar is Dragusin, whose agent has told them how to tempt Genoa into a sale.

Asked about recent speculation linking the Romania international to the Magpies, Florin Manea told TV Play: “It’s not an offer from Newcastle, I’ve had meetings with both Newcastle and other teams. Genoa would only sell him for an offer higher than €30m.”

In English money, that means Newcastle would have to invest more than £26m to get their hands on Dragusin.

Whether or not they intend to remains to be seen, but they would have more chance of doing so than Milan or Inter – while a return to Juventus would not appeal to Dragusin’s advisor.

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Dragusin ‘can only go to Premier League’

Manea added: “I wouldn’t like it [a return to Juventus], but he doesn’t know. In life you never know, even if Genoa will certainly ask for a lot of money for him.

“He still has a lot of room for improvement. He is aware that he’s now at 85% of his potential.

“Will Dragusin leave Italy? Probably. AC Milan and Inter have also asked, but [for] those figures, he can only go to Premier League teams.”

Dragusin has been with Genoa since 2022, when he signed on an initial loan deal from Juventus. By the end of his first season, he had helped them secure promotion from Serie B to Serie A.

Still only 21 years old, he has a contract with Genoa until 2027. He has spent his entire senior club career playing in Italy so far – including one appearance in the Champions League for Juventus – but also has 11 caps at international level for Romania, the country of his birth.

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