Newcastle United are making a move for Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule.

Off contract in June, the Germany international has long pined for a move to England.

Sport1 via Fussball Transfers says Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has spoken personally to Sule's management team about a move to Tyneside.

Newcastle's new supremo is making a personal approach knowing Sule will be taking a big risk joining Newcastle from the success he's enjoyed with Bayern.

For their part, Bayern would be happy to secure Sule to a new deal, but are struggling to match his demands.

The past summer, Bayern's board were willing to sell Sule if they could negotiate a good price with another club, as they did with Thiago Alcantara and Liverpool last year.

Sule, standing at 6ft 4in, is astonishingly quick for his size - behind only Canadian speedster Alphonso Davies as the fastest player at the club.

This season under new coach Julian Nagelsmann, Sule has made 12 appearances for Bayern Munich.

- updated October 18