According to fichajes.net, Newcastle United would be prepared to pay around €55m for the 25-year-old striker, a figure that would fall well short of Villarreal's intended new valuation as the club look to protect their leading scorer.
Georges Mikautadze signed for Villarreal from Olympique Lyonnais last summer in a deal worth around €31m plus roughly €5m in variables, and is contracted at the Ciudad de Valencia until June 2031. The move quickly proved shrewd business: the Georgia international finished last season as Villarreal's top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions, adding six assists in 42 appearances along the way.
That form has already attracted interest beyond Newcastle. Marca reports that Villarreal intend to increase Mikautadze's clause from €60m to €75m during the closing days of the market, a built-in mechanism within his contract designed to deter last-minute bids when the club would have little time to identify a replacement.
Villarreal are yet to receive a formal offer for the forward, and there is no indication his representatives have asked to leave.
Barcelona have also made contact with Mikautadze's camp as they search for a long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski following Ferran Torres's departure to Paris Saint-Germain, though a separate report suggests the Catalan club have been discouraged by Villarreal's asking price, which sits closer to €50m in that scenario, and no formal proposal has followed.
Mikautadze's underlying numbers explain the club's reluctance to negotiate downward. In LaLiga alone he contributed 13 goals and six assists, directly involved in 19 of Villarreal's league goals across the campaign, form that has pushed his market value well beyond the fee the club paid last summer.
Should Newcastle wish to test Villarreal's resolve, they face a rapidly closing window in which to do so.
Villarreal's move to raise the clause reflects the value they now place on a forward who cost roughly a third of his prospective asking price barely a year ago, and the Yellow Submarine appear intent on ensuring any departure comes only on their terms before the market shuts.