Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Newcastle United are expected to make offers for Bamba Dieng and Lucas Paqueta.
Newcastle are said to be one of the sides interested in Dieng in the summer transfer window after he scored seven times and made three assists in 25 Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille last season.
The Magpies look to have failed in their pursuit to sign James Maddison and have turned their attention once again to Lucas Paqueta, as the Brazilian midfielder has been on the radar of Eddie Howe for the entire summer transfer window.
With Newcastle signing just three players this summer, Jones spoke to GiveMeSport and claimed that there is a lot of plotting going on at the club, with Dieng and Paqueta both seen as good value.
He said: “We need to keep our eyes on Newcastle, there is a lot of plotting going on at the moment. I’m expecting offers to go in for Dieng and Paqueta as both players are seen as good value.”
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TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Newcastle were on the verge of signing Hugo Ekitike this summer, but an issue with the player’s agent arose and he has now signed a deal with Paris Saint-Germain, so the Magpies’ hunt for another forward continues, with Dieng emerging towards the top of the list.
However, Callum Wilson led the line for the Magpies and scored the second goal in the opening game of the season for Newcastle as they beat newly promoted Nottingham Forest 2-0, so Howe might be thinking that he is happy with his first-choice attacking options, so you can see how another creative force in the long-linked Paqueta could be a useful addition.
On the other hand, Chris Wood was introduced at St James’ Park in January and scored just two goals in 17 league games for Newcastle, so Dieng might be someone who Howe could add to the squad to act as healthy competition for Wilson and as a long-term option given he is just 22 years old.