An update has emerged on Newcastle United transfer target Stefan de Vrij, regarding his future at Inter...

What's the talk?

According to Calcio Mercato, the Italian giants are plotting their future with Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar, with no final decision made on extending the Dutchman's contract.

The report claims that he could be sold to make way for younger players to come in, allowing Inter to build for the years to come.

Major issue

Magpies boss Eddie Howe could solve a major issue at the club by securing a deal to sign de Vrij from the Serie A side in January.

After 12 Premier League games, Newcastle have 0 clean sheets and 27 goals conceded - with zero wins to their name as they sit rooted to the bottom of the table. They have conceded 2.3 goals per game on average, highlighting the defensive problems Howe needs to resolve in order to get the club out of trouble before the end of the season.

De Vrij, who was previously hailed as a "monster" by his former teammate Mauricio, could be a terrific addition to help solve this issue due to his experience at the top level. Last season, Inter kept 11 clean sheets in his 30 starts and he averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.03, which came after he averaged a score of 7.05 and helped to keep nine clean sheets the previous campaign.

He was once compared to Juventus and Italy beast Leonardo Bonucci by ex-Inter, and current Spurs, manager Antonio Conte too, who said:

"The growth of this team comes from assimilating certain concepts. Stefan [de Vrij], like Bonucci, becomes an important player because they must inevitably leave him room. Stefan is doing well. My defenders must be the first to rely on, even Godin had made assists against Udinese. We have to try it."

These comments from Conte and his statistics in the last two seasons highlight the quality he could bring to St. James' Park as a defender. The £116k-per-week earner has played well over 200 times for Lazio and Inter combined and has shown that he can perform to a high level on a consistent basis, which is why he could come in and lift Newcastle's defence in the second half of the season.

His presence could lead to clean sheets and points on the board in the Premier League, as he has proven he can help to keep shutouts in the Serie A, and this could go some way to solving a major issue for Howe. It is now down to the ex-Bournemouth boss and PIF to ensure that they can get a deal over the line for the Netherlands international.

AND in other news, Paid £12m, now worth £4.5m: Newcastle had howler with dud accused of trying to "cheat"...