Newcastle United have tabled a bid worth up to £9.8million for Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Stanley N’Soki, according to Yahoo Sport France reporter Manu Lonjon.
The reliable journalist claimed via his personal Twitter account that the Magpies submitted a bid on Friday night that is worth £6.2million up front, as well as £3.6million in add-ons.
https://twitter.com/ManuLonjon/status/1025710633914908672
N’Soki has only ever made one senior appearance for PSG and may be on the radar of Rafa Benitez after Florian Lejune was hit with a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Good move for Newcastle?
If Newcastle are struggling to splash the cash this summer, then it would make no sense for them to offer such a deal for a centre-back when their priority should really be a centre-forward.
N’Soki appears to be someone who has good potential. He has played a key role in PSG’s development sides and captained them at times in the UEFA Youth League last season.
The 19-year-old can also play at left-back, which is also an area that Benitez could do with padding out, but it is a lot of money to spend on someone who has only ever made one first team appearance in his entire career.
It’s not like the Magpies have had much luck with French players in recent history too.
This is Futbol rating 6/10
Likely to happen?
It’s hard to see PSG turning this offer down.
While they are widely seen as one of the richest teams in the world, they have to cash in on players in order to avoid breaking Financial Fair Play rules, according to BBC Sport in June.
The £6.2million up front for N’Soki could go a long way in helping them to do that, but at the same time, there is a chance that Newcastle have not offered this much due to Mike Ashley’s tight control on finances.
This is Futbol rating 5/10