Newcastle United still have Sevilla star Diego Carlos on their summer shortlist but the Magpies will not get in a bidding war for his services. Although, he could be a viable option with suggestions in Italy growing stronger that another January target Sven Botman of Lille will soon be an AC Milan player.
For all that Newcastle have not given up on Botman with Amanda Staveley even namechecking the Dutch centre-back recently, and as far as United are concerned nothing has been rubber-stamped for the 22-year-old meaning they are still around the table for his services. The Magpies are also in a position to make Botman a superb offer.
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Talk of an increased transfer release clause of £67million for Carlos has emerged from the La Liga circuit since Newcastle made multiple bids before leaving the room after an offer of £32million last January. Back then it was suggested in Spain that an offer closer to £50million would be the tipping point for the 29-year-old centre-back.
And in the aftermath of the Newcastle saga in January life has been tough for Carlos and Sevilla with the defender picking up a muscle injury and missing games and his side slipping away from the title race. Sevilla now sit in third behind the top two Real Madrid and Barcelona and are 12 points behind the leaders.
Carlos has been in the headlines after getting his paperwork through from the Spanish government to gain citizenship in the country meaning he will soon be eligible to play for Spain. Having shaken off a muscle injury, Carlos then showed the world exactly what he can do with a solid performance and bullet header goal in the 4-2 win over Granada in La Liga.
Yet Newcastle have back-up plans if they can't agree a price for Carlos with Bremer of Torino also on their list at a potentially lower price for the 25-year-old's services. Attila Szalai of Fenerbahce is another centre-back Newcastle have been tracking and one that may be prepared to battle for his place with pressure eased in the heart of defence by the January arrival of Dan Burn.
Toon scouts have been present to watch Szalai in recent games but have been joined by Aston Villa and notably Milan who also like the Hungary international. Newcastle already have a direct link to Szalai's agency ROGON who look after Joelinton.
Should Fabian Schar sign his new deal that would leave Newcastle in a better position come the start of pre-season but Eddie Howe is eager to increase the quality of the squad in every department in the summer.
