According to north-east reporter Ian Murtagh, Steve Bruce would “love” to sign Lyon striker Moussa Dembele – and could ask Mike Ashley to splash the cash on the Frenchman when they meet for talks.
This comes from his latest piece for the Daily Star and follows on from weekend reports claiming we had scouts watching the former Celtic star during Lyon’s win over Bordeaux on Saturday night.
That said, this one feels like a non starter and a complete fantasy for Bruce – even if Ashley did shock us all and suddenly agree to spend this month.
Here’s a snippet from his new report for the Daily Star, suggesting Bruce will ask Ashley to fund a big-money move for the French striker when they meet for transfer talks this week:
“Steve Bruce will urge Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to splash the cash when they meet up this week to discuss the club’s future plans.
“The Toon boss will tell Ashley that to strengthen his squad significantly, he needs to be looking at transfer targets in the £20m plus price bracket – pointedly citing Miguel Almiron’s arrival 12 months ago as an example.
“The Newcastle chief would love to compete for the signature of Lyon’s former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele, who has no shortage of admirers in this country.”
I’m sure Bruce would ‘love’ to sign Dembele – but the chances of him coming to St James’ Park this month seem next to non existent based on his alleged price tag (£35m plus) and the competition we’d face, with Man Utd strongly linked.
The 23-year-old has scored 13 goals so far this season, despite Lyon’s struggles, and bagged 23 times across their 2018/19 campaign following a £19m move from Celtic.
We may have spent ‘£40m’ on Joelinton last summer, but this one feels like a non starter for a whole host of reasons.
Forget the price and success of Almiron. The signing of an under-performing Joelinton for around £40 million will probably have ensured that Ashley won’t buy any more players over £10 million, even though he WAS touted as ‘Ashley’s signing’. Hopefully he will leave the decisions to those more qualified in future, give them the right amount for a top player.
We live in eternal hope.
taken4mugs(Quote)
Non starter move on!!
Fastoon(Quote)
The last time Fatty splashed the cash on players and had a bloke called Steve in charge – that worked out well, didn’t it?
sickandtired(Quote)
The Geordie Nation, a new fan-site, has just been launched at http://www.TheGeordieNation.com
Take a look – they’re looking for people to contribute.
Brrrian(Quote)