Newcastle United made January offer for player who has just completed £17m Premier League move

Newcastle United could have stolen a march on Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur by landing their latest signing during the January transfer window.

Spurs are on the verge of landing long-term Magpies target James Maddison over the coming days after the the North London outfit agreed a deal with Leicester City believed to be worth an initial £40million. United were believed to have made three separate bids to land the England star last summer and revisited that interest without making another bid during the January transfer window after concerns Maddison was not willing to move to the North East.

However, it is another Spurs signing that was reportedly the subject of interest from Newcastle earlier this year after the Father of Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario claimed the Magpies and Nottingham Forest ‘came forward’ with an offer, six months before he completed a £17.2million move to North London.

Despite Vicario showing an interest in a switch to the Premier League at the midway point of last season, Empoli insisted any deal could not take place until the end of the campaign, meaning the former Venezia and Cagliari stopper had to wait to secure a move.

Speaking in an interview with Napoli Magazine, Vicario’s Dad said: “No, we would not have preferred to see him continue playing in Italy, from our side there was no preclusion.

“My wife always wanted to go and study in England, then she had to make other choices. To see her son realising a dream that was his is unimaginable gratification. Newcastle and Nottingham Forest had come forward in January, but Empoli wanted to postpone everything until the summer.”