Newcastle United are one of a few clubs to have been credited with an interest in RC Lens winger Gael Kakuta.
Fans may remember the name as he used to play for fellow Premier League side Chelsea before moving abroad after failing to make the cut at Stamford Bridge.
Since becoming the youngest ever player to feature for the Blues in the UEFA Champions League, Kakuta’s career hasn’t followed that projectors and the winger has been somewhat of a journeyman during his career with six loan spells from his time as a Chelsea player alone before moving on to Sevilla.
His spell in Spain was no more fruitful and he had a subsequent spell in China that again brought about loan deals and a move back to Spain but the 29-year old has enjoyed his best season to date in 2020/21.
With 11 goals in 33 games in Ligue 1 this season and being a big part of Lens potentially breaking into a European spot in France, Kakuta has once again caught the eyes of English sides.
His loan deal to Lens will be made permanent as a result of the side securing survival in the division but that doesn’t rule out a further sale if the price was right.
According to a report in the Daily Mail; the clubs that join Newcastle in their interest of Kakuta are Crystal Palace, Fulham and Watford.
The fee is reported to be in the region of £8.6M to prise the Frenchman from Lens.
Does this rumour have the ring of truth to it? I’m not so sure.
If reports are to be believed, Newcastle’s transfer budget is likely to be extremely limited with the covid-19 pandemic being cited as a reason for this and it seems unlikely that a large chunk of said budget would go on a man nearing his 30s and with just one decent season at a good level to his name.