NEWCASTLE UNITED are set to launch another transfer raid on Milan as they look to add to their youth ranks ahead of the start of the new season.

The Magpies have already had extensive dealings with AC Milan this summer, resulting in the €70m purchase of Italy international Sandro Tonali, whose switch to St James’ Park was confirmed at the start of this week.

Now, Newcastle’s recruitment team have turned their attention to Inter Milan, although their target is not quite as high-profile as Tonali, who skippered Italy Under-21s in the European Championships earlier this summer.

Newcastle have held talks over Kevin Zefi, an 18-year-old Irish winger who has spent the last two years in Inter Milan’s youth ranks.

The Dublin-born youngster, who is of Albanian descent, began his career with Shamrock Rovers, playing for the Irish club’s B team in the League of Ireland First Division.

He became the League of Ireland’s youngest-ever goalscorer when he found the net in the 2020-21 season at the age of just 15 years and 206 days, with his performances catching the eye of scouts from all over the continent.

He was eventually persuaded to move to Italy and join Inter in the summer of 2021, and in December of that year he made headlines in his new home country as he scored a hat-trick for Inter’s youth team.

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Zefi, who has entered the final year of his contract with Inter and not yet agreed a new deal, scored 16 goals in 23 appearances in the youth ranks last season, and Newcastle are hoping to prise him from the San Siro and add him to their own academy set-up.

Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth made bolstering the academy with the brightest young prospects from around the world a key priority when he took over on Tyneside, and has adopted an aggressive transfer policy in the last 12 months, bringing in the likes of Garang Kuol and Yankuba Minteh, who joined the club this summer before being immediately loaned out to Feyenoord.

Zefi, a Republic of Ireland Under-19 international, fits the profile that Newcastle are targeting, and it is hoped a deal could be agreed ahead of the new campaign.

Newcastle have also held talks over Romeo Akachukwu, another Republic of Ireland youth international who spent last season in the youth ranks of Irish club Waterford.

The 16-year-old impressed at the recent European Under-17 Championships, with the likes of Manchester United and AC Milan being linked with a possible move, and is set to visit Newcastle’s training base at Darsley Park to discuss a possible contract with the Magpies.