According to Graeme Bailey at 90min, Newcastle are looking to raid France once again with a double transfer swoop.
Bamba Dieng of Olympic Marseille has been identified as a striker that Newcastle have on their radar as they work their way down their list of forwards. Dieng is also been targeted by Celtic, Everton and Leeds. The 22-year-old striker was courted by Newcastle in January but no move was made. It’s thought that a bid of £15m will be enough to snap up the Senegal international as new Marseille boss, Igor Tudor doesn’t seem to feature Dieng in his plans.
Dieng can play anywhere across the forward line. Picking up a young forward with that range of versatility is exactly what Newcastle are looking for and if they could snap him up for around £15m that would certainly be an excellent piece of business.
If Dieng and Paqueta were to come in, would this be a successful window?
No
Yes
Bailey has also set Geordie hearts racing as he has claimed that Newcastle might finally be ready to make a move for Lucas Paqueta. The Brazilian has been at the top of fans’ transfer lists since he was seen wearing a Newcastle top in his best mate, Bruno Guimaraes‘ back yard earlier this year.
There is no doubting the quality of Paqueta and that he would be an excellent addition to the Newcastle squad, however, the club itself has never actually shown interest in the move with all transfer stories seemingly born from the fact that it’s a great way to generate clicks given that Newcastle fans are desperate for the move to be made. Whether this is still the case or if Graeme Bailey has a source who genuinely knows that something is about to happen remains to be seen.
A fee of £33m plus addons is believed to be what it will take to take Paqueta away from Lyon, which allegedly matches Newcastle’s valuation, so if the interest is real, the stars are aligning for this one, however they will still likely have to fend off Arsenal.
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