Newcastle United enter the race for Kalidou Koulibaly

Newcastle United have emerged as shock contenders to sign Kalidou Koulibaly, who has been linked with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City in recent weeks.

The Senegal international is expected to leave the Serie A side this summer and this has attracted interest from a number of high-profile clubs across Europe.

United are unlikely to make a move for the centre-back as they are satisfied with the options at hand but there is still plenty of competition from the likes of City and Paris Saint-Germain.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Magpies have now emerged as surprise candidates to sign the 28-year-old and it is suggested that they will have the finances to do so with the takeover.

The Tyneside outfit are set for a change in ownership with PCP Capital Partners having agreed on a deal worth more than £300m to takeover from Mike Ashley.

Koulibaly is valued at around £70m by Napoli and the Magpies would make a huge statement, if they manage to persuade him to join them ahead of some of Europe's elite clubs.