Newcastle United journalist Lee Ryder has provided an update on the transfer link between the Tyneside club and LOSC Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare.
This comes after Ryder recently made an appearance on The Chronicle’s Everything is Black and White Podcast where he spoke about a variety of subjects surrounding Steve Bruce’s side at the moment.
After football journalist, Fabrizio Romano shared a post on his official Twitter page claiming that Lille have rejected a bid of €35 million (£32.3 million) from the Toon for Soumare, Ryder dismissed this claim on the podcast.
He said: “They’ve got a long-term interest in the player, but I was told from somebody at the club today that there had been no bid slapped in.
“That reported bid didn’t occur, but are they interested in the player? They’ve got a long-term interest in him, they tried to sign him in January, so it’s not a name you can dismiss in the long term.”
The 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £22.05 million, signed to Lille on a free transfer from the Paris Saint-Germain B team back in the 2017 summer transfer window.
Since then, the Frenchman has made a total of 70 appearances for the club in which he has scored one goal and provided one assist.
The 2019/20 season saw Soumare in poor form for Lille having earned himself a season rating of 6.35/10 for his performances in the 20 Ligue 1 appearances he made for the club last season (per WhoScored).
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TIF Thoughts…
Given how disappointing Soumare was for Lille last year in Ligue 1, it may be wise for Newcastle to avoid making a move for the midfield man this summer.