According to reports in Germany today, Newcastle made a €28m (£25m) bid to sign Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta over the summer
This comes from SportBild, who claim that our £25m offer was knocked back, with the Bundesliga side holding out for £35m instead.
Watford, Everton, Brighton, AS Monaco and Marseille were also interested according to the German outlet, however this isn’t the first time we’ve been linked with the French U-21 international who bagged 14 goals in the Bundesliga last season.
L’Equipe reported that we’d made a £20m bid for the 22-year-old in June, while Sky Sports also claimed in July he that was a player we were keen to sign AFTER the arrival of Joelinton.
That said, I have my doubts that we’d have made such sizeable bids given he’s been injured since July and has had knee surgery as a result.
This could be one to watch in January, but I’m not convinced Mike Ashley will be spending big on another talented but unproven young striker in the new year – especially when he’s yet to kick a ball this season.
