NUFC make move to sign 6ft 5′ Frenchman – Player keen and bid ‘imminent’ – Report

According to L’EQUIPE, Newcastle have now made contact with Toulouse over a deal to sign centre-back Christopher Jullien – claiming we are expected to make a bid ‘imminently’ after Rafa identified the Frenchman as one of his ‘priority’ targets.

This is not the first time we’ve been linked with a move to sign the 6ft 5′ defender, so that combined with our need for a new centre-back following Florian Lejeune’s injury makes us wonder if there *might* be something in this one.

Breaking | Newcastle United have in recent hours intensified contacts with Toulouse defender Christopher Jullien – a bid is expected imminently. More follows. (L'Éq)

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 6, 2018

It’s claimed that the 25-year old has told Toulouse he’d like to leave, however the French league side are likely to be reluctant sellers – with them having already cashed in on centre-back partner Issa Diop earlier this summer (with him joining West Ham for £22m).

How much we’d be prepared to pay remains to be seen given Rafa’s minimal spending pot, but it has been claimed recently that he could be sold for a fee in the region of £8m.

Thanks to some Google translate, here’s a snippet from L’EQUIPE’s latest story – suggesting Rafa has now identified him as a ‘priority’ target, with the player also keen on a move to the Premier League:

‘Defender Christopher Jullien Toulouse is the subject of a pronounced interest from Newcastle.

‘As it stands, the hypothesis can not be ruled out. For several days, Newcastle multiplies contacts to set the conditions for a possible transaction for the central defender (25 years, under contract until 2021), which is among the priorities of the coach of the Magpies, Rafael Benitez. 

‘No offer has yet been received on Olivier Sadran’s desk. It will have to be formulated by Thursday and the closing of the English market. He has never hidden his interest in the Premier League. ‘

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)