Sky Sports announce long-term NUFC target set to seal £18m move to the Premier League

Not only have Newcastle United missed out on a deal for long-term target Boubacary Soumare, it looks like Leicester City will sign him for a fraction of the price we were prepared to pay just 18 months ago.

As revealed this afternoon by Rob Dorsett – Sky Sports’ man in the midlands – the Lille midfielder is close to completing a summer move to Leicester for a fee that ‘could rise to £18m’.

Considering it was confirmed that we’d made a £35m bid for the France U21 star in January 2020 – a sudden transfer story that Steve Bruce said was just shy of our club record transfer fee – it’s quite something that Brendan Rodgers looks set to get him for HALF the price we were willing to pay!

Lille, the newly crowned Ligue 1 champions, must be kicking themselves that he ended up turning down a move to Tyneside, with it reported at the time that fellow Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin tried and failed to convince him to sign.

Less than 18 months later, here’s what Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett has said – confirming the 22-year-old’s move to Leicester is now all but done:

Here’s a reminder of what Bruce had to say about the move that never was back in January last year:

‘We had a bid accepted that would have been near enough a club record but the player didn’t want to come.

“We got past the club but unfortunately the player wanted to stay where he was.

‘We couldn’t get it over the line and that was a big disappointment.’

Considering how good Leicester’s recruitment tends to be, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one that comes back to haunt us in the next few years!

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About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

2 thoughts on “Sky Sports announce long-term NUFC target set to seal £18m move to the Premier League

  1. I love the way you totally avoid the old contention that regardless of who the owner is, or the manager is , some players just don’t want to come to Newcastle because they believe we are located in an Arctic wasteland with no indoor plumbing, no shopping and no nightlife!

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  2. Helen Clarey:
    I love the way you totally avoid the old contention that regardless of who the owner is, or the manager is , some players just don’t want to come to Newcastle because they believe we are located in an Arctic wasteland with no indoor plumbing, no shopping and no nightlife!

    That’s a bizarre take when there’s been a whole load of French stars sign for NUFC over the years..

    Ginola
    Robert
    Remy
    Cabaye
    Ben Arfa
    Saint-Maximin
    Yang-Mbiwa (Captain of a Ligue 1 winning side at the time!)
    Debuchy
    Sissoko

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