Newcastle 'are prepared to offer Dortmund's Axel Witsel a £190,000-a-week contract which would blow Juventus out of the water' in the race to sign the Belgian midfielder

• Newcastle are plotting their first transfers since their £305m Saudi-led takeover
• The Magpies are set to offer Axel Witsel a £190,000 a week contract, say reports
• Juventus are also said to be interested but cannot match Newcastle's offer
• Witsel's contract expires at the end of the season but wants to stay at Dortmund

Newcastle are prepared to give Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel a huge £190,000 a week contract, which would blow Juventus' offer out of the water, say reports.

The Magpies are on the verge of making their first transfer dealings following their £305million takeover by a Saudi-led consortium earlier this year, with the January window just a matter of weeks away. 

Witsel's current contract at Bundesliga giants Dortmund expires at the end of the season with the 32-year-old featuring in every single German top-flight game for the club this term. 

And according to Tutto Juve, Newcastle are prepared to offer the Belgian a contract worth over £190,000 a week which is a solid improvement on the £135,000 a week deal he currently earns at Dortmund.

The report adds that Juventus, who are said to be keen on the Belgian international, would not even be prepared to meet Witsel's current terms at Dortmund, meaning the 32-year-old would have to take a pay cut to move to Turin. 

Witsel has remained coy on his Dortmund future but did say at the start of the season that his preference would be to remain at the German club. 

Speaking in August, Witsel told Ruhr Nachrichten: 'What the future will bring, I cannot say yet. 

'If I can stay in Dortmund, that would be good, I feel good here at the club and in the city. There's still some time left on my contract.'

The current campaign is Witsel's fourth at Signal Iduna Park, with the midfielder appearing over 120 times for the club since joining from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian. 

Witsel has just come back from a long-term Achilles tendon injury which nearly ruled him out of Belgium's Euro 2020 campaign, but the midfielder made a miraculous recovery to play a key part in the Red Devil's bid for glory.

Sadly for Witsel, Belgium's run came to an end at the quarter-final stage with Roberto Martinez's side losing to eventual winners Italy.