Newcastle were dealt a minor setback in the January transfer window after target Boubakary Soumare snubbed a move which would have seen them smash their transfer record for the third window in a row.
Soumare has been impressing teams all around Europe since the beginning of the season, subsequently catching the interest of sides such as Manchester United and Liverpool, which might explain why he didn’t fancy moving to Tyneside.
Since rejecting Steve Bruce’s side, it hasn’t quite gone to plan for the 20-year-old. With Lille seemingly frustrated that his refusal has kept them out of earning as much as around £45m, reports suggested that central midfielder was being penalised the club. The conflict has now been sorted, as per a statement from the player, but that still hasn’t meant that the Magpies have given up on their target, according to French outlet Le10 Sport (via Sport Witness).
Le10 Sport claims that the bid which was accepted is ‘still valid’, which could be positive news for United. In fact, the story goes further to suggest that the club are continuing to ‘press’ Soumare and his agent in the chance of pushing through the transfer, with them offering wages of over €2m (£1.67m) a year post-tax, which would be over double his current deal.
Should Bruce revisit Soumare in the summer?
Yes
No
It is said that Newcastle could offer the player the chances of playing regular football in the Premier League – something which Manchester United or Liverpool couldn’t necessarily offer.
The report states that Soumare rejected the move in the hope that he could join a bigger side, but there is still confidence within Newcastle’s camp that a better deal may ‘start seducing him’. They go further to say that it is not an impossibility to see him playing in black and white next season.
On the whole, this has to be seen as positive news for the club. Despite his young age, he has had a pretty impressive season. He averages one tackle per game, 0.8 interceptions per match, as well as 0.6 key passes per match, 1.1 dribbles per game and a 90 per cent passing accuracy rate, per WhoScored.
Given the calibre of some of the teams interested, this would be a huge coup for the Toon – but it is likely to depend on whether one of the bigger clubs see him as a risk worth taking.