Newcastle United face Premier League and Serie A competition for ambitious Europa League winner

Newcastle United will reportedly face major competition from clubs in the Premier League and Serie A if they follow up their interest in French defender Evan Ndicka.

The former Auxerre centre-back has forged a strong reputation for himself ever since moving to Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in a £4m deal during the summer of 2018. Since making the switch to Germany, Ndicka has gone on to make over 160 appearances for Die Adler and is viewed as one of the most promising defenders in Europe.

Still only 23, the former France Under-21 international played a lead role in helping Eintracht claim last season’s Europa League with a penalty shoot-out win against Rangers in the final. He has continued to shine this season, playing all but seven minutes of Eintracht’s 21 Bundesliga and Champions League fixtures.

His form across the last two seasons has brought constant speculation about a possible move away from Deutsche Bank Park, with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma and Inter Milan all said to be keen on the defender. Intriguingly, Ndicka is out of contract at the end of the season and would be able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with a club outside of Germany before making a free transfer move at the end of the season.

Ndicka has spoken of his ambitions for the future and is keen to follow in the footsteps of one current Premier League star. He said: “I like the way Raphael Varane plays. Or Adil Rami. I watch them. Getting close to this standard wouldn’t be that bad for me. From nothing, comes nothing. If you want to achieve something, you have to invest something. You have to make sacrifices - like everything in life if you want to get ahead.”

Newcastle were first linked with the centre-back earlier this year and are believed to have watched in action as they look to continue boosting their defensive options.