Newcastle United have not yet made an offer for their reported summer target Jean Phillipe-Mateta, according to journalist Neil Farrington.
The Mainz forward was first linked with a move to Newcastle by L’Equipe, who claimed that the North-East club had made a £30million bid for the 21-year-old.
Farrington wrote on his personal Twitter account, that the Magpies have not yet launched a bid for the French forward, despite an earlier report from L’Equipe claiming that a number of English clubs had made contact with Mainz.
I'm told neither #nufc nor any other Premier League club have bid for £30m-rated Jean-Philippe Mateta so far this summer (they could have had him for £8m last summer).
— Neil Farrington (@Neilfarrington) June 10, 2019
Farrington also mentioned that the 6’2″ Bundesliga forward [Source: Transfermarkt] was available last year, for a cut-price of only £8million. The French under-21 starlet has been in great form in front of goal for Mainz this season, scoring 14 goals in his 34 league appearances.
OPINION
At only 21-years-old, Mateta has great potential and already has proven his eye for goal in the German top flight this season. The striker is already a big physical handful for any back line and at such a young age would be a great option for Rafael Benitez should he stay at St James’ Park next season. The only downside to a potential deal would be the fact that any club could have signed Mateta for a much smaller fee last season, £22m less to be precise. This could be seen as a big test for Newcastle from Benitez, will the club highlight their ambition for years to come with a big bid for the forward, or will it need the potential takeover to be completed to be able to confirm a deal. It is clear that the former Liverpool boss loves to have a physical presence up top to partner the more skillful and energetic duo of Ayoze Perez and Miguel Almiron, and should they fail in a permanent move for last years loan star Salomon Rondon then Mateta would certainly be a worthy replacement.