According to reports in Spain, Newcastle United have joined the race to sign Sevilla centre-back Loic Bade following his impressive performances in La Liga.
This comes from Spanish outlet Vamos Mi Sevilla, who claim that Newcastle and Aston Villa are big admirers of the Frenchman and could compete with a number of top clubs for his signature in January.
The report states that Liverpool have considered the 24-year-old as a potential long-term replacement for Virgil Van Dijk, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain also tracking the 6ft 3′ defender.
Newcastle are on the lookout for a new centre-back and may be assessing their options after trying and failing to sign Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi over the summer. A renewed bid for the England international had been touted, but The Telegraph recently revealed that Guehi could stay put and assess his options at the end of the season, where he’ll have 12 months left on his contract.
Vamos Mi Sevilla state that Bade has €50m release clause in his contract – he signed a new deal until 2029 back in September – but it’s thought Sevilla would listen to offers around €30m. If true, he’d cost considerably less than the sort of money Palace were demanding for Guehi just a few months ago.
After catching the eye at the Paris Olympics, where he was part of the France squad that won Silver, the former Lens and Le Havre talent has made a strong start to the league season with Sevilla.
