According to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh, Newcastle United have continued to monitor the progress of Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare closely after he rejected a move to St James’ Park last January.
The Magpies had a £35 million bid accepted for the 21-year-old during the last winter transfer window, but he wasn’t keen on a move.
While Newcastle have continued to keep tabs on him, head coach Steve Bruce is said not to be as convinced by Soumare as his scouting department, and it remains to be seen if a move next month could happen.
The SJP outfit want to strengthen their midfield department and have identified both domestic and foreign targets ahead of the winter transfer window.
With French top-flight clubs struggling financially after Mediapro, a TV rights holder, withheld two successive payments, Lille may accept a knock-down price for Soumare next month, and that should hand Newcastle and other suitors a huge boost.
Liverpool, Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers were linked with the young Frenchman in the summer of 2019, but he remained with Lille.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Ligue 1 outfit also turned down a £32 million bid from Newcastle for Soumare in September, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming weeks.
Lille have turned down a bid [€35m add ons includer] from Newcastle for the French midfielder Boubacary Soumaré. ⚪️⚫️ #NUFC #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 10, 2020
Newcastle have struggled for creativity in the middle of the park and the department is their weakest area so far this term.
There is money available for Bruce to spend next month while he will also rely on the loan market, and adding one or two top midfielders to the squad could help prevent a repeat of the disappointing performances and results gotten against Brentford, Leeds United and Fulham in recent games.
