Newcastle United ‘consider £31m swoop for Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic’

Newcastle United are reportedly willing to pay £31million for Croatian star Marcelo Brozovic this summer.

Eddie Howe will need to strengthen his squad if they qualify for next season’s Champions League and the Inter Milan defensive midfielder is apparently under consideration.

Calciomercato in Italy report that Newcastle are willing to pay Inter’s asking price for Brozovic, 30, and that the Serie A club need to offload certain big names to balance their books.

Brozovic, who has also been linked with Barcelona and Liverpool, has a contract at the San Siro until 2026, having played 318 games and scored 30 times for the club since 2015.

However, he has been restricted to just 13 starts in Serie A this season having suffered from hamstring and calf injuries along the way.

The Croatia midfielder, 30, would bring plenty of experience of top European competition 

Eddie Howe has Newcastle on course for Champions League football next season

Brozovic did, however, play every minute of Inter’s Champions League quarter-final against Benfica as captain, which has set up a mouth-watering semi-final meeting with AC Milan.

His eight-season spell with Inter has seen him win the Serie A title and the Italian Cup. He also helped them to the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2020, when they lost to Sevilla.

Brozovic was part of the Croatia team that reached the 2018 World Cup final and finished third last year.

He would help Bruno Guimaraes move into a more attacking role at Newcastle, while also offering more defensive cover.

Sitting third in the Premier League table, Newcastle are on course to play Champions League football for the first time since the 2003-04 season.