Newcastle’s Alessandro Circati interest makes perfect sense after what Tony Popovic said

Newcastle United have been told exactly why they should accelerate a move for Alessandro Circati by Australia manager Tony Popovic.

The Magpies have been linked with Circati's services by reports in Italy after his impressive season in Serie A with Parma.

Circati is a regular in the Italian top flight and is also believed to be on the radars of both Juventus and Napoli.

Eddie Howe is believed to be keen on bolstering his centre-back options this summer after a disappointing campaign.

Newcastle have been watching Circati for a while, according to reports, and previous praise from Socceroos boss Popovic proves exactly why he would be a shrewd addition.

The 22-year-old is currently representing his country at the World Cup under Popovic, who was also a centre-back and featured over 110 times for Crystal Palace during his own playing days.

He has battled back from a long-term ligament injury to become an integral part of the national team again, with Newcastle possibly set to move if he shines in North America.

Circati was born in Italy and so could have represented them at international level, but was convinced to play for Australia by Gianluigi Buffon during their time together at Parma.

He helped them achieve promotion to Serie A in 2024 and has since proven himself as an established top flight centre-back despite missing seven months with an ACL tear.

Popovic heaped praise on the centre-back last year after he made him the youngest Socceroos captain in 44 years, with his comments making it clear that Circati has all the tools to be a success on Tyneside.

He said: "He's a wonderful talent that has obviously been recognised by Parma in signing him, playing in the Serie B, now into the Serie A. He has had the harsh reality of football, where you're on such a high, to copping an ACL injury and basically missing a season. That's the part of football that a lot of people don't see.

"In the end, you can see it's helped him mature and become even a better player, and I've obviously not had a lot of opportunities with him, but just recently bringing him in in June was the first time that I saw him playing against Japan. He'd just been back for two weeks in the Serie A, so to perform the way he did, in such a big game under pressure, really not match fit, not physically fit, showed me what a player he could be.

"That was the first time I thought, you know what, Ale can be a leader, he can be a captain. He was really suffering physically, but you couldn't see it in that match. Him being our captain shows something that I believe in for the future, that he could be a leader on and off the park for many, many years to come."

Newcastle finished last term with the sixth-worst defence in the Premier League, so Howe clearly needs to make adjustments to his backline this summer.

While much of the focus is set to be on full-backs, with Lewis Hall possibly set to leave and a new right-back needing to be signed, they may well sell a centre-back to make space for Circati.

Sources have told Football Insider that Newcastle will be busy throughout the summer, with Malick Thiaw the most likely candidate to be sold from centre-back.

Fabian Schar and Sven Botman have both signed new deals in 2026, while Dan Burn is 34-years-old and seems likely to finish his career with his boyhood club.

Man United and Bayern Munich have both been linked to Thiaw's services in recent months, so there remains a clear possibility that he leaves soon.