If reports emerging from France this morning are anything to go by, it looks like Newcastle have missed out on another talented young striker.
As revealed by RMC Sport, GFFN and TF1, Southampton have struck a €13m deal with Bordeaux for highly-rated forward Sekou Mara.
The 19-year-old was recently described as our alternative to Hugo Ekitike – who recently joined PSG – yet it looks like he’ll be heading to St Mary’s, not St James’ Park.
It’s believed that Newcastle and Borussia Monchengladbach held ‘talks’ with the striker, however both clubs were ‘waiting to see if Bordeaux would go bust’ in a bid to pick the player up for a pittance of the price being demanded.
That appears to have backfired, as Southampton have respected the recently relegated side’s financial situation and offered a deal (€11m + €2m in add-ons) that may have just saved them from liquidation.
Foot Mercato revealed yesterday that Newcastle were ‘very interested’ in the France U21 star who bagged five goals in four games at the Toulon tournament and six goals in eight Ligue 1 starts last season, but it looks like he’ll be signing elsewhere, as things stand.
