Newcastle's potential new chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has his sights set on Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek as the club's first marquee signing, with the Dutch club's chief executive Edwin van der Sar admitting the 23-year-old will be allowed to leave Amsterdam.
The Magpies' proposed £300m takeover deal, led by Amanda Staveley and backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), is currently in the hands of the Premier League.
The takeover will see Mike Ashley's 13-year Newcastle reign come to an end, with PIF owning an 80% stake and Staveley and billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben each having a 10% stake.
Having been infamously stingy in the transfer market under Ashley, the new owners are poised to loosen the purse strings, and according to journalist Nicolò Schira, van de Beek is one of their top targets.
Schira writes that Yasir Al-Rumayyan - governor of PIF and Newcastle chairman in waiting - 'dreams' of signing the 23-year-old, and talks are ongoing with his agent.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan dreams Donny #VanDeBeek for #Newcastle. Talks ongoing with the agent of #Ajax midfielder, who has been watched by #RealMadrid too. #transfers #NUFC
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) May 8, 2020
Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar has confirmed that the midfielder will be allowed to leave the club in the summer, but has insisted that the club will not be under pressure to sell their assets for discounted prices following the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on football finances.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van der Sar said: "Last year, we made verbal agreements with [Andre] Onana, [Nicolas] Tagliafico and Van de Beek to stay another season, and then we look to help each other and find the next step in their careers. Nothing has changed.
"There won't be a 50 per cent discount. The clubs can forget about that."
Van de Beek was one of Ajax's young starlets who burst onto the European stage during the 2018/19 season, as the Dutch outfit stormed into the Champions League semi finals, knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus in the process.
Ajax have already agreed to sell Hakim Ziyech to Chelsea for £33.3m, and made £140m during last summer's transfer window after selling Frenkie de Jong to Barcelona and Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus.
Van de Beek has been linked with a move to a selection of top European sides, with Real Madrid in particular heavily linked.
Source : 90min