Newcastle United are understood to have made contact with Napoli regarding a potential club-record deal to sign Kalidou Koulibaly, Footmercato reports.

The Magpies are currently on the cusp of a £300m takeover from the consortium led by PCP Capital Partners and there is the anticipation that the club could make a few big-name signings this summer.

Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho and Chelsea’s Willian have already been linked with the club and Footmercato now claims that the club have initiated talks with Napoli regarding Koulibaly.

The Senegal international is regarded as one of the best-performing defenders in European football and he has been fancied to move to the Premier League on numerous occasions in the past.

However, it appears that the Serie A outfit are prepared to sanction his sale this summer and the Magpies would need to pay a club-record £70m fee to reach a transfer agreement.

A recent report fancied Koulibaly to join Manchester United but that option has been ruled out with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not viewing the Senegalese as an ‘essential target‘.

Still, the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are in the running to sign the 28-year-old centre-back and the Magpies would make a huge statement, if they manage to convince him to join them.

Apart from Koulibaly, the Magpies are understood to be keen on signing Edinson Cavani on a free transfer while Real Betis’ Nabil Fekir, valued at £44m, is also on their summer wishlist.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com