Newcastle United and West Ham United could rekindle interest in ‘complete’ Serie A midfielder

Newcastle United and West Ham United are reportedly set to be handed a second chance to sign midfielder Kristjan Asllani.

The 20-year-old was the subject of interest from both Premier League clubs during the summer transfer window after impressing for Empoli last season.  However, the Albanian international remained in Italy after completing a deal to join Serie A giants Inter Milan on a season-long loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent next summer.

After the move was secured, former Italy international Daniele Adani revealed he had high hopes for Asllani’s time at the San Siro.  He told One Football: “This guy is not just a deputy for Marcelo Brozovic.  He’s much more. For me he has everything to establish himself as an Inter player.  Both Simone Inzaghi (Inter manager) and the club know that it’s worth investing the time in Asllani, because he’s a complete midfielder.”

However, the early months of Asllani’s time at Inter have been far from successful, with the midfielder making just two starts in all competitions so far this season.  They both came earlier this month with appearances against Roma and Sassuolo - although the latter ended when he was replaced at half-time by former Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb have now reported Asllani is ‘not happy’ with his current situation and will ask to leave the San Siro in January in search of more regular game-time, with reported Newcastle target Hakan Calhanoglu said to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

The report also states that Inter have not made a decision over whether they will allow the midfielder to depart - meaning Newcastle and West Ham face a wait to see whether they can rekindle their interest when the January transfer window opens.