'Newcastle in particular...' - PIF in pole to end striker search with 'fantastic' £21.3m move

Atalanta have revealed their demands for Newcastle target Duvan Zapata, according to local newspaper L’Eco di Bergamo (via Sport Witness).

Newcastle have encountered frustration in their attempts to sign a new striker so far this summer.

They lost out to Paris Saint-Germain in the race to sign Hugo Ekitike from Reims, and West Ham may be about to beat them to Armando Broja of Chelsea (via The Northern Echo).

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope even reported on Sunday that Eddie Howe was willing to go without a new first-team no. 9 and instead place his faith in Callum Wilson, but the opportunity to sign Zapata may yet change his mind.

The report states that Atalanta have included Zapata on their list of transferable assets for the summer window.

Now, they ‘wait for moves from England, Newcastle in particular’, as the Magpies sit patiently in pole position.

They would apparently sanction his departure if they were offered somewhere in the region of €25million (£21.3million).

Zapata, who joined Atalanta from Sampdoria in January 2020, is an intriguing option.

At 31, he’s at a completely different stage of his career to Ekitike and Broja, but might be able to offer a short-term guarantee of goals, similar to the successful season Salomon Rondon had on Tyneside in 2018-19.

He netted 13 in 32 appearances last season, averaging one every 178 minutes, and 19 in 49 the previous campaign. His overall record for Atalanta stands at an impressive 79 goals in 162 games.

And he can tee up scoring chances for his team-mates too, recording 38 assists during his time in Bergamo.

Zapata, who also scores highly for progressive carries and dribbles (89th percentile), is similar in profile to the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Harry