Brazilian outlet O Globo are reporting that Flamengo have rejected Newcastle’s latest bid for Matheus Franca – just days after Fabrizio Romano claimed we had offered €16m for his services.
The report suggests that we first went in with an offer of €13m before upping it to €14m with a further €2m in add-ons, but it seems both were rejected by the Rio de Janeiro-based club.
While we are yet to return with a third bid, it is believed that Flamengo would only be interested in a deal worth €20m as well as keeping 50% of any future sale.
Club director Marco Braz has also claimed that Franca ‘is not for sale’ and that the club are ‘not interested in negotiating Matheus Franca at this moment’, yet O Globo
Given our need for new attackers, it will be interesting to see whether we will give in and pay the extra €4m, or if we stand firm on our previous offer and prepare to look for an alternative option somewhere else.
That said, you’d suspect the 18-year-old Brazilian is one for the future – like Garang Kuol – not someone who’d come straight into Eddie Howe’s first-team plans?
