Vast numbers of Newcastle United fans have been reacting on social media, after Sky Sports’ Keith Downie shared that the Toon had seen a near-club-record bid accepted only to be turned down by the player.
Downie spoke with head coach Steve Bruce on the club’s Deadline Day transfer plans on Friday morning, where the boss confirmed that a near-record offer had been placed.
The Toon’s present most expensive purchase is Joelinton’s £40million move from Bundesliga side TSG Hoffenheim last summer, which eclipsed Miguel Almiron’s then-record £21m arrival from Atlanta United last January.
Bruce refused to confirm who the player in question is, though stated that he was a midfielder and opted against life on Tyneside as he wished to remain with his current side.
“I’m not giving you the name, you need to work that out yourself,” Bruce said, per quotes by Downie. “He was our number 1 target.”
Did NUFC need to chase a midfielder?
Yes
No
Recent reports had linked United with LOSC Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, though stated that the 20-year-old had no interest in leaving the Stade Pierre Mauroy any time soon as Les Dogues are currently fighting for Champions League qualification.
Lille would have demanded an extremely hefty sum to release the midfielder this month had Soumare been inclined to move on, with claims that he could cost as much as €60m (£50.4m) amid speculated intrigue from Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, Real Madrid and Valencia.
Downie has since confirmed that Bruce’s mystery man was indeed Soumare, adding that United agreed to pay £45m including bonuses for the France U21 international and could revisit his situation in the summer.
Here are some of the messages shared as fans reacted to Downie’s update, quoting Bruce’s claim of a near-club-record bid being accepted only for the unnamed midfielder to reject our advances…
I bet it was Grealish lol
— Andrew (@Andy_Newc) January 31, 2020
Wouldn’t it b better 2 bid 4 a striker instead of a midfielder we can’t score and the strikers we have r injury prone #NUFC
— Alan White (@alanwwhite80) January 31, 2020
So sad to see that Sergio Busquets rejected us
— ⚫️𝙱𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚎’𝚜 𝙰𝚛𝚖𝚢 ⚪️ (@NotoriousShaneo) January 31, 2020
But we can’t bid for alcacer piatek or bowen.. Yeah right Steve..
— YoungY (@myoungy2805) January 31, 2020
Definitely Charles N’Zogbia!!
— Jonny Grant (@jonnygrant31) January 31, 2020
Soumare from Lille? #NUFC
— Joe Moore (@Joe1994Moore) January 31, 2020
Why wasn’t this money used to bid for a striker then??
— johnh (@gizbyker1) January 31, 2020
So why are we not in for a striker if we have around 40 mil to play with?
— Danny Cascarino (@dannyjcascarino) January 31, 2020
LOL that old chestnut
— Alan Armstrong (@Alan_Armstrong7) January 31, 2020
Well if they had a near transfer record bid accepted, which is 40 million if the Joelinton bid is right, why could they then not go for Jarrod Bowen at half the price? #NUFC
— Anthony I’Anson (@AnthonyIAnson) January 31, 2020
In other Newcastle United news, two European giants have been linked with a Toon talent.