Newcastle have seemingly missed out on one of their summer transfer targets already after it emerged that he met with a different club in recent days.
Magpies set for summer of change
After an underwhelming season, Newcastle United seem set for a big summer, both with new signings and potential exits to shape Eddie Howe's squad while abiding with Financial Fair Play.
There are profit and sustainability concerns on Tyneside, especially with their Premier League form seeing them miss out on Champions League revenue, and CEO Darren Eales has already admitted that players might have to be sold to allow them to continue spending in the upcoming transfer windows.
"Any decision we make will always be against the backdrop of the medium to long-term benefit for the club. It's difficult to say specifically on certain players, but I can say that, if we're going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players", he explained.
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"It's just the nature of the beast. If you trade players on it creates more headroom . You have to keep growing that headroom, increasing commercial revenue and player trading."
That has led to plenty of speculation around midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who has attracted interest from Manchester City and Arsenal and has a release clause set at £100m, which could allow Eddie Howe's side to spend more freely this summer.
However, they have been dealt a blow in a bid to land their first signing of the summer.
Juventus to beat Newcastle to goalkeeper signing
Now, reports claim that Juventus are set to beat Newcastle to the signing of Monza no.1 Michele de Gregorio after he rejected the chance to move to the Northeast.
That is according to Tuttosport, who reveal that the Magpies offered £17m for his services in January, and held talks with the player, only for the shot-stopper and his club to turn down the opportunity to join the Magpies.
De Gregorio is under contract with Monza until 2027, having penned his most recent £30,000 per week deal just last summer, but the report adds that he has now "met with Juventus" to "arrange a move" from Monza, where he has excelled this season, keeping 14 clean sheets in the Serie A.
Both Inter and AC Milan are also said to be monitoring the 26-year-old, though they are yet to make a move for him, and it looks like a matter of time before Juve fend off competition from Tyneside and elsewhere in Italy.
How Di Gregorio compares to current Newcastle options
Nick Pope
Martin Dubravka
Di Gregorio
Save %
73.6%
70.6%
80.9%
Goals- xG prevented per 90
+0.08
+0.11
+0.32
Goals against per 90
1
1.99
1.04
Appearances
14
19
30
Clean sheets
6
5
14
It is no secret that Newcastle are on the hunt for a new goalkeeper, having had to rely on Martin Dubravka for a large part of this season after Nick Pope's injury in December.
No.3 goalkeeper Loris Karius is set to leave this summer, while Dubravka is now 35-years-old and limited in the style that Howe wants to play. However, they may have to look elsewhere to find their long term solution.