Newcastle United reportedly made a move in January to try and sign Inter Milan central defender Milan Skriniar, but he is set to join PSG this summer instead.

The Lowdown: Pre-contract agreement

Skriniar signed a pre-contract agreement with PSG in the January transfer window, and has since been stripped of the captaincy at Inter.

His current deal at the San Siro expires in the summer, meaning that he will join PSG on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The Latest: Newcastle made move

As per Italian news outlet Inter Live, Newcastle moved through an intermediary to try and sign Skriniar in January, and could have offered him a lucrative contract.

However, any talks they tried to open were immediately stopped, with Skriniar already firmly set to join PSG.

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The Verdict: Shame

It is a shame that the St. James' Park outfit missed out on signing Skriniar, as centre-back is surely an area of the pitch that they will look to strengthen in the summer.

They do have four in the senior squad at the moment, but Dan Burn has often been played at left-back instead, while Jamaal Lascelles was strongly linked with a move away in January.

Hailed as a 'monster' by Serie A pundit Marco Messina, the six-foot-two Skriniar has played Serie A title in the 2020/21 season.

At 27 years of age, he is a player about to enter his prime, and had the potential to be a level-raiser for the Magpies alongside the ever-improving Sven Botman, but they will have to look at other targets once he joins PSG.