Newcastle 'make contact with Koulibaly over audacious summer move for defender'

Newcastle have officially contacted Napoli regarding the signing of defender Kalidou Koulibaly and are also considering bids for Edinson Cavani and Nabil Fekir, according to reports in France.

The Premier League club are nearing a change of ownership after a £300million bid by a Saudi consortium was accepted by current owner Mike Ashley.

Should that deal go through, it would make Newcastle the richest top-flight club by some considerable margin, and such wealth could see the Tyneside outfit compete to attract the biggest names.

And according to French outlet Foot Mercato, the Mapgies have already contacted Serie A outfit Napoli about signing their prized asset, Senegalese defender Koulibaly.

The Napoli centre-back has been heavily linked with Manchester United, with the Premier League giants long-term admirers of the Senegal international, but Newcastle are also preparing to make him an offer.

The report states that fiery Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is prepared to sell the defender, but will demand a figure just under £70million (80million euros) to part ways with his services.

The report also claims that Newcastle may not stop there, with the north-east club 'dreaming' of signing Paris Saint-Germain's all-time leading goalscorer Cavani.

The 33-year-old Uruguayan is out of contract at the Parc des Princes in the summer, and while Atletico Madrid and clubs in South America have contacted him, the Magpies have not given up hope of bringing him to England.

The outlet claims that in order to convince him, bosses at the Premier League club are prepared to offer him a 'golden contract', but they may also turn to Real Betis star Fekir.

Fekir has shone at the Spanish side this season and the report claims he is one of Newcastle's primary targets to reinforce their forward line.

It is reported that Betis would not be ready to discuss any offer below (50million euros) with the player under contract at the Estadio Benito Villamarin until 2023, but the report acknowledges it will not be a fee that will scare the Saudi investors.

These claims come after the Premier League and UEFA both insisted that Newcastle must abide by spending restrictions, which will stay in place.

Both governing bodies have their own versions of 'financial fair play' (FFP), with the Premier League limiting owner-subsidised losses to £105million over three years and UEFA limiting three-year losses to £26m.

Spokesmen for both organisations have reiterated that there are no plans for either set of FFP rules to be softened.