Reports Roma put Zaniolo on transfer market, but he snubs Newcastle

Sky Sport Italia claim Roma have decided to put Nicolò Zaniolo on the transfer market for €50m and he is rejecting a Premier League move, preferring Milan or Juventus.

The versatile forward turns 23 next month and is under contract until June 2024, making his mark this season with eight goals and nine assists in 42 competitive games.

That includes the winner in the Europa Conference League Final against Feyenoord, which gave Roma their first trophy in over a decade.

There has been speculation for many months that Zaniolo would be the player sacrificed to raise funds and strengthen the rest of the squad in the image of coach Jose Mourinho.

Now Sky Sport Italia insist the decision has been made and they are waiting for the formal offers in the region of €50m.

However, while a sale to the Premier League would be the ideal for Roma, the same report states Zaniolo is resisting all proposals from England, especially Newcastle United.

He is targeting a Champions League club, so the only real alternatives are Milan and Juventus.

There have been multiple reports that Milan chief Paolo Maldini pin-pointed Zaniolo as an ideal reinforcement for the Scudetto winners, seeing a bid of €25m plus Alexis Saelemaekers rejected.

Inter sold Zaniolo to Roma in 2018 for €4.5m as part of the Radja Nainggolan swap deal, before he had ever played a single Serie A game.

As part of that agreement, the Giallorossi owe Inter a 15 per cent cut of his sell-on fee, so the Nerazzurri will benefit from the sale regardless.