Newcastle have turned their attention to Nice midfielder Kephren Thuram after ‘receiving no encouragement’ in our bid to sign Nicolo Barella, according to Football Insider.
It’s clear we are looking to add a star man in the middle this summer and had identified Barella as a top target, but it’s believed the Italian is not sold on a move to St James’ Park.
As a result, it’s claimed we’re now working on a deal for Thuram, who’d cost around £35m and is also being targeted by Liverpool; who were believed to be in preliminary talks with the 22-year-old last week.
The 6ft 4′ Frenchman – who has two years left on his contract with the Ligue 1 club – has been heavily linked with Newcastle in recent months, with The Athletic’s George Caulkin, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards and The Mail’s Craig Hope all confirming our interest.
One factor that could be huge in persuading the French youth international to Tyneside is our Champions League status. This is something Liverpool are NOT able to offer after ending the season in 5th.
